Blame It On Potter
by BentReeds
Summary: Everyone always thought that James Potter was the great troublemaker of his time. What if it was really Lily? Only she was smart enough never to get caught. Slight AU.
1. Chapter 1 The Train Ride

BentReeds

The Train Ride

Disclaimer: Everything save for my OC belongs to JK Rowling

Ally felt as though she had been given a fresh start as she stepped through the barrier of platform nine and three quarters. From where she stood, she could see the smoke coming off the train. The platform was packed with relatives and students, some carrying bizarre pets or wearing the most unusual muggle clothes.

Ally was relatively short and came to about five' three. She had black, glossy, wavy hair that came to her shoulders, but she normally tied it up in a bun. Her face had been rounded ever since childhood and only recently had it sharpened out... a little... Ally had soft blue eye with an understanding look in their depths. She had already changed into her Hogwarts robes before she came to the train station - over the summer it was decided she would be in Gryffindor.

_By that bizarre talking hat... _she thought. _Well, forget about the stupid hat and focus on the new beginning that's been laid at your feet._

"Now, you're sure you'll be alright by yourself, dearie?" a soft voice said behind her.

Her mother, unlike Ally was rather tall. She had the same dark hair and eyes and was wearing a modest blue muggle dress with a floral print on it. The only difference in her face was that her mother had a sharper look.

_That turns rather scary when she gets mad at you... _Ally giggled under her breath.

"Oh mum, I'm fine, really! We talked about this on the ride here."

"Well, as long as you're okay with everything..." She clicked her tongue and straightened up.

Ally turned and gave her mother an affectionate hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry, I have a great feeling about this year!"

They exchanged their last goodbyes before Ally turned to load her luggage on the train. She was a bit relieved to have finally said goodbye. Don't be mistaken, she loved her mother and all but was really rather eager to start the new year.

Ally had attended Beauxbatons School for five full years in France, before her father insisted they move to the United Kingdom to keep track of his small medical practice. Her Uncle David was the owner of St. Mungo's Hospital and was on the more well off side of the family.

Ally's thoughts were interrupted when she realized that the train was about to pull out of the station and she hadn't found a seat yet. While she was thinking about all of these things, she had put her trunk away and had been standing there like an idiot daydreaming. She scrambled to the door and stuck her head out as the clock struck eleven and the train lurched into movement. She waved to her mother in the crowd and her mother smiled and waved back before disappearing in the crowd of well-wishers.

"Well... time to find that seat." she said aloud.

Ally didn't realize just how quickly seats fill up on the Hogwarts Express. She strolled down the train passing by compartments of gossiping girls and boisterous boys. None of the compartments were too appealing.

Traveling further and further back into the train she began too lose hope of ever finding a seat.

_Just pick one... _She told herself and she turned to the first door on the right and threw it open.

Three monstrous looking Slytherins were sitting there and looked up scowling at whoever had dared to disturb them.

"Um—er—sorry about that—well—looking for someone—Bye!" She babbled and slammed the door shut a little too loudly before proceeding to sprint to the back of the train. Doors and people whizzed by her and she bumped into someone. A whirl of black robes and red hair passed by her vision as they tumbled down.

Ally hurried to stand up and reached down to help the red head up.

"I'm so sorry—um—er—oh!—you alright?—are you—ugh!" She said in frustration.

The girl took her hand and stood up, laughing a little.

"You're kind of funny you know. I'm Lily." She stuck out her hand and Ally took it.

"Oh," Ally was still a little frazzled from all that had happened. "I'm, uh...Ally!" She shouted her name loudly as if she was excited simply to know her name.

Lily giggled again.

"Do you have a seat yet?"

"Nope."

"Do you want to sit with me?"

"Sure!" She put on a goofy over exaggerated grin that made Lily laugh.

Lily and Ally walked a little way to the farther end of the train and entered an empty compartment.

"So what house are you in, I mean, I haven't seen you around before." Lily said as Ally took a seat opposite her.

"Oh, I just transferred from Beauxbatons this summer, and I'm in Gryffindor. Dumbledore sorted me in his office when I was transferring schools."

Lilly looked at her interested.

"You saw the inside of Dumbledore's office! Wow! What did it look like?"

Ally thought for a moment.

"It had things that whirred, purred, clicked, clacked, lit up, bobbed, popped, snapped, clacked and generally seemed completely pointless."

"Sounds a lot like Dumbledore!" Lily laughed.

"He had a red and gold phoenix too."

"Wow! I heard there really hard to tame as pets! I'm so relieved you're in Gryffindor too. I was the only girl Gryffindor in our grade before you came! Normally I would be sitting with the Hufflepuffs right now, but there so noisy and gossipy." She wrinkled her nose in dislike.

"So what was Beauxbatons like?"

Ally huffed.

"A lot like what your precious Hufflepuffs sound like, the only exception is that they're all blonde clones with identical uniforms." Ally put on a fake high pitched French accent. "Oh my! I zimply cannot buy zees handbags becauz it doez not match zee hair on the person three feet away!"

Lily laughed and then said "Ew, five years of _that_?"

"Yeah, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun."

"Can you speak French?"

"Yeah, I picked up a lot of French at school, but my parents always spoke English at home."

"Maybe you can help me with something then. I—"

But Lily was interrupted with a bang as two boys rushed into the compartment and slammed the door behind them. Ally caught a glimpse of their robes and noticed they were in the same house.

"Potter! Black! What in the--"

Potter, as she called him, acted quickly and clamped a hand over her mouth. Lily looked really mad at his actions and started to shout into his hand, not really caring that it was muffled. The three Slytherins Ally saw earlier slid open the compartment door. The bulkiest, ugliest, and likely most stupid of them stepped forward. Ally saw his eyes flit from Lily and then to Black and Potter. His eyes rested on Potters hand over Lily's mouth.

"Protecting you filthy mudblood girlfriend, Potter?" He sneered.

"None of your business Flint, and don't call her that—that name." he retorted.

Ally had no idea what came over her but before she could stop herself she blurted.

"Personally, I find it amazing that he can say anything through those crooked teeth. And anyways, don't you think it's phenomenal that such an obviously small brain could produce words, even if it is an insult?"

Startled, the Slytherins turned to stare at her only just realizing she was in the room, while the three other Gryffindors in the room laughed uproariously. Flint had a rather peeved expression on his face.

"This isn't over, Potter," He looked over at Black "Blood Traitor."

Black raised his fist, about to hit, but Potter stopped him.

"Forget it," he said.

"Yeah, Black," Flint mocked as he slouched out of the room with his two cronies following. "Forget it."

Lily looked over at Ally once they had left.

"You really are going to have to watch that mouth of yours once we get to Hogwarts, Als."

Potter jumped in. "That was wicked!" remarked Potter as he stuck out his hand. "Did you see his face! I'm James and over there is Sirius." He nodded at the other boy standing next to her.

"Ally." She shook his hand and nodded over at Sirius.

"Hi." Sirius said.

"You in Gryffindor?" James asked.

"Yeah."

"What year?"

"My sixth."

"Us too."

He dropped into the seat next to Lily and draped his arm over Lily.

"Now, since your Lily's friend, you can finally convince her that she's been madly in love with me ever since we met."

"Oh, get over yourself James." She said shoving him away.

Ally laughed.

"So _what_ did you do to make Flint and his henchmen to chase after you?" Lily asked.

"What did we do?" James exclaimed looking shocked. "What did we do? It's more like what they did to us. Slytherins should know by now that they're not welcome within our eyesight! Honestly, Lily we thought the reason was obvious."

"Oh, you're certainly full of yourself." Lily said and James and her continued to bicker.

_Like an old married couple..._ She thought and giggled out loud

"What's so funny?" a voice near her ear asked.

Ally nearly jumped in surprise. She turned to face Sirius who was sitting next to her grinning.

"I was just thinking that they bicker like an old married couple."

He laughed.

"Exploding snap?"

"Exploding what?"

"Snap. It's a card game. I'll teach you. I would ask Lily and James, but they seem to be having so much fun." Lily took that particular moment when Ally and Sirius looked over to poke James in the forehead.

Ally decided to try the game and even though she wasn't good at cards, whenever she made a mistake Sirius would point it out and they would laugh.

Sirius spent the rest of the ride teaching Ally how to play. Halfway thought the ride Lily and James stopped bickering long enough for Ally to invite them to a game. While they were playing, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her, but whenever she looked up, no one was looking. Sometime during the train ride, two boys came around and joined their group. Their names were Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Remus reminded her of an old friend she had in France and she liked him right away.

Soon after their eighth game ended, the train slowed to a stop and everyone stood.

"Guess we're here!" said Remus cheerfully.

"Yeah." Ally suddenly grew very nervous.

They stepped off the land out into the cold train station where a crowd of students were milling around waiting for the carriages. Somehow Ally got separated from her new friends in the crowd.

Lost in a crowd Ally thought despairingly.

Great, Here I am in a train station, I have no idea where I am or where I'm going, it's freezing cold—"

"Lost?"

She turned around and stood face to face with Sirius who was wearing a mischievous grin. Well, not face to face, as mentioned before she was quite short, more like face to chest.

"Oh no, I'm not lost I just don't know where I am!" She smiled up at him.

"Got it. James and Lily are arguing in front of the carriages waiting for us," he took her hand and pulled her through the crowd. The carriages were lined up waiting expectantly for students to fill them up.

The two of them stopped a little way away from their friends. That was when she noticed that Sirius hadn't let go of her hand. Her eyes traveled up to meet his gaze. His grey eyes held hers for an intense moment before James jumped in and dragged Sirius away by the arm muttering something about girls.

Ally watched as James pulled Sirius away and they lost eye contact as he was swallowed up by the crowd.

"Come on, let's go get a carriage away from those two."

Ally and Lily climbed into the first carriage they saw and sat down.

"I can't stand how egotistical he is! He thinks that he's sooooooo great and—just—ugh!" Lily yelled in frustration.

"He did seem a bit cocky." Ally said halfheartedly, still caught up in the gaze Sirius and she had held. _What was that about, it was so suspenseful_... Now that she thought about it they were really nice eyes... _Grey is such a nice color... Wait! What in the world am I saying...thinking...saying...um...thinking! You barely know this person!_

After finishing her rant on James, Lily told Ally about the great hall and the welcome ceremony.

"The sorting hat will sort all the first years into their houses... and did I tell you about how the ceiling is enchanted to look like the sky outside? I wish there was a book that would tell about the history of Hogwarts..."

"Really? It's enchanted? Neat, we never had anything like that in France."

They slowed to a stop and Ally jumped out of the carriage.

She could only stare at the monster of a castle in front of her.

Lily giggled to her left and nudged Ally.

"Planning on staring at the castle all day and getting run over by the carriages or do you want to head to the feast?"

"Oh—um—yeah."

Ally tore her eyes away from the castle and giggled with Lily.

"Sorry, the only place I've seen as big as this was my other school, and even that wasn't half as big as Hogwarts Castle."

"Yeah, I love it here. Come on though we've got to get to the feast."

They walked through the great front gate and down into a large hallway into the great hall. Ally noticed the four long tables were each decorated in certain colors and put two and two together.

"Which table is Gryffindor?" She whispered to Lily.

"Over there," She pointed "The table in red and gold."

Lily and Ally sat down at the upper end of the table. Ally looked over at the head table and recognized Dumbledore at the head talking to another Professor.

Lily followed her gaze.

"Dumbledore... I wonder how powerful he really is. I've heard crazy stories about him."

Lily didn't get a chance to say anymore because the doors to the great hall opened and the first years entered, led by an old woman in green robes.


	2. Chapter 2 Friends

CH 2 Friends

Disclaimer: Everything except for my OC belongs to JK Rowling

Warning: It's a short chappie!

An old woman with green robes led the group of first years through the two center tables. She stepped forward to stand at the front next to an old weathered looking stool. From behind her she drew out the sorting hat.

(A/N I can't do poems or songs so we're skipping the song.)

"When I call your name, you will come forward and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head and you will be sorted into your respected houses..."

With her other hand she drew out a list.

"ALANS!"

A small boy with brown hair walked up and sat on the stool. His knees looked like they were knocking and he had a look on his face that said he would rather be at the bottom of the lake than there right then. Professor McGonagall, as Lily had told Ally, placed the hat on him and it fell over his eyes. The hat murmured in his ears for a few moments before coming to a conclusion.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table to their right burst into applause and the boy ran to his house table.

The sorting took a while to complete. Several students were sorted into Gryffindor. She wondered if the sorting hat purposely sorted an equal number of students into each house. To her it seemed as if Hufflepuff got the bulk of the students this year.

_Maybe each generation different... Our year only has two girls in Gryffindor... but seven Gryffindor girls are in fifth year... Maybe that hat knows what it's doing..._

When the sorting was complete, Professor McGonagall disappeared for a few moments and returned to sit at Dumbledore's right side.

Dumbledore rose with his hands outstretched and the hall silenced.

"Welcome! Welcome all, new students and old, to another year at Hogwarts. Please remember that the Forbidden Forest is not to be entered lightly under any circumstances." He took a moment to glance at James's group who were snickering lightly to themselves. "And I remind you again not to approach the Whomping Willow, which is enjoying its sixth year on our grounds. Oh, and we have another new student who is joining us for her sixth year and has already been sorted into Gryffindor. Ally Pierce would you please stand up?" Ally blushed and rose to her feet to the cheers of Gryffindor. She looked down the table and Sirius was beaming at her so she smiled back. "Now that all is said and done..." He paused with a twinkle in his eye. "Dig in."

The room broke out into applause and chatter. The clinking of plates and forks alerted Ally to just how hungry they were.

"That was a short speech. Wish he hadn't made me stand up, though." Ally said helping herself to the pie. "Doesn't really drag things out does he?"

"No, not normally no, he only gives out long speeches after you've gotten into big trouble. And it wouldn't be Dumbledore if he didn't introduce you in front of the entire school." Lily replied.

"Gee, great, feel the love Dumby. Have you ever heard one of his long speeches?"

"No, I suppose that's why I made prefect this year."

"You're a prefect!" Ally asked incredulously.

"Yep," Lily smiled. "Maybe I can finally set Potter straight... And get back at him... a little." She raised her two fingers and showed them to her a millimeter apart. "Just a little."

"You know?" Ally thought for a moment. "I bet we're going to hear a lot of long speeches this year."

"No, not me," She pointed to the pumpkin juice and Ally passed it to her. "If I ever break the rules I have no intention of getting caught like Potter does every few days."

"Rock solid idea!" Ally exclaimed "Blame Potter whenever we get into trouble!"

_Poor Potter isn't going to have such a fun year after all..._

Ally and Lily laughed and the two spent the rest of lunch coming up with ways to get in trouble... and how to blame them on Potter.

The hall silenced and Lily and Ally looked up at Dumbledore.

"I am afraid the hour is far too late to keep you up any longer. Dinner is over and it is time to head to your house common room. Prefects, if you will lead the first years... and goodnight all!"

Ally and Lily jumped up.

"I have to show the first years the way to the common room." Lily said with a touch of regret.

"Great! Since, technically, this is my first year at Hogwarts; you can guide me to the common room also."

Lily grinned and called out for the first years. A small group of scared looking students wondered up to them shuffling their feet.

"First years," Ally joined. "Hey! Dobbler, Mercer, you too Creevey!" Ally yelled at a group of small boys talking.

"You remember their names?" Lily whispered out of the side of her mouth.

"Yeah, I have a knack for remembering anything that isn't educational."

Lily and Ally led the way up to the tower. Well, Lily was in front of Ally the entire way, but Ally pretended to know where she was going.

Lily and Ally were in their pajamas up in the girls dormitories, sitting in the center of the floor of their new room.

At first, when Ally and Lily walked into their new room it was decorated in the same...old...red and gold. Now, thanks to some excellent charm work and suggestions by Ally. It was turned into a black, neon green, and pink room... with a dance floor.

Ally pointed her wand at the ceiling and said 'discorama'. Soon a disco ball grew out of the ceiling lit up, and started to twirl. They giggled their heads off over how silly to whole place looked.

"I should have thought of this years ago." Lily said as a pink shag rug appeared out of her wand.

"I always wanted to do this in Beauxbatons but my roommates never let me..." Ally sniffed in dislike. "Little pricks."

"I can't imagine what McGonagall would do if she saw this!" Lily said as they climbed into their beds. (Now sparkly and white)

"Probably get her knickers in a knot and demand we put it back."

"If she ever sees it..." Lily screwed up her face in mock thought. "Let's just blame it on Potter."

"Deal!"

They began to fall asleep as the disco ball dimmed.

"Hey Lil,"

"Yeah Als?"

"This year is going to be sweet," She yawned "I know it."

"Yeah, it will be...'night."

"'Night."


	3. Chapter 3 Schedule and Suspicion

Ch. Three. Schedules and Suspicions.

Disclaimer: Everything except for my OC belongs to JK Rowling... Don't kill me.

The next day Ally and Lily headed down to the common room. Remus and Peter were playing a game of chess and James and Sirius sat around talking and watching. A group of seventh year Gryffindor girls were talking loudly about what their boyfriends did over the summer, and there were two fifth years sitting on the couch.

They walked over to the couches and sat opposite the two girls.

"Ally," Lily said. "These are two of my friends Carla and Pria." She pointed to them as she said their names.

Carla looked really shy and just smiled. She had platinum blonde hair and dark brown eyes that looked a bit awkward on her. Pria had dark wavy hair and dark skin, she grinned happily at Ally.

"Hello!" Pria said rather fast, "My name is Debapria, or Pria for short. Is Ally short for Allison?"

"No, just Ally." She said back. "Debapria is a pretty name! Do people say Debra a lot?"

"Oh loads of time!" Pria exclaimed annoyed. "It's the worse! I say Debapria, they say Debra," She exaggerated with her hands. "I would say Pria, they would say Dia, I would say Deba and they would say Chia Pet!"

Carla and Pria laughed at how flabbergasted Pria looked and she continued with her rant for several more minutes.

"Uh... Guys," She interrupted "Perhaps we should go down and join the rest of the school at breakfast?"

The three other girls looked around and realized they were the only ones left in the common room.

They all rushed out of the portrait hole and Ally and Pria raced down to the great hall leaving Lily and Carla behind. By the time they reached the hall Pria and Carla had saved them two seats and were already helping themselves to breakfast.

"We saved you two seats." said Ally motioning for Lily to sit down next to her. Carla sat down next to Pria and across from Ally and Lily.

Not far into their helping themselves to breakfast Professor McGonagall walked by and handed out the schedules. When she finished Ally barely got a chance to compare her schedule with Lily's because Lily was called over to speak with McGonagall.

"What does she want do you think?"

Lily only gave her a confused look as she walked away to where McGonagall was. Before she turned her head back to the table someone sat down in Lily's now vacant seat and swiped the timetable out of her hands.

"Hey!"

"We have..." Sirius paused and looked over his schedule and hers. "Care of Magical Creatures and... Charms!"

"Well, lucky me," she snorted. "You could've asked me for the schedule, you know."

"But that would take all the fun out of holding it over your head and making you jump for it!" he grinned mischievously and held it over her head too far out of reach.

She snatched for it but she was too short.

"Don't make fun of my height!"

She snatched for it again and scowled at him.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Hmm..." She smirked and pulled out her wand. In a flash her schedule and his were in her hand. She took his in her hand, and crumpled it up. Taking his cup she placed the crumpled schedule in the pumpkin juice and added a little sugar on top.

"Juice?" she asked sweetly.

He took it and placed it aside.

"I'm sure James will be very proud of you when he learns what you did to his schedule." He smiled as he drew his schedule out of his pocket and Ally kept smiling.

"Why are you still smiling?"

"Because it confuses people?" She asked with the same grin plastered to her face. Carla and Pria were having difficulty controlling their laughter.

"Come on," Lily said from behind her as she pulled her out of the seat, "I've got something to tell you." They walked out of the hall with Lily practically dragging her.

"What is it/" Ally asked as she dragged her out of the hall.

Lily dragged out a long gold necklace she had hanging on her neck and showed her a golden disc attached to the end.

"Sooooooo..." Ally scratched her head in confusion as Lily looked at her expectantly "What is it?"

"It's a time turner! McGonagall explained it to me. You flipped the disc over how many hours you need to go back in time for." Lily looked ecstatic.

"Why?" Ally said looking silly.

"Last year when we were signing up for classes, I overloaded my schedule by one class, so I have Muggle Studies at the same time as Divination. McGonagall gave me the time turner to make it to all my classes."

"Oh yeah I forgot." Ally held up her schedule. "What classes do you have?"

They compared timetables in the hall and saw that they had all their classes together except for Lily's extra Muggle Studies.

"Come one, let's head to Potions..."

The rest of the week was uneventful. Ally and Lily got overloaded with various homework assignments and had gone to the Library to study and get a head start on their work. Later in the evening Remus and James joined them, Remus may have been intent on studying, but James had come to stare, and flirt obnoxiously with an uninterested Lily.

"How do you spell bollywood?" Ally asked "With an I or a Y?" she scribbled on her potions essay and looked over at Lily hiding behind a pile of books.

"Meh." She mumbled.

"Great words of wisdom Lils, thanks."

"It spelled with a Y." Ally looked up at Remus.

"You know," She wrote furiously on her essay as she spoke. "You don't look all that great Remus... a bit under the weather?"

It was true of course. Remus had bags under his bloodshot eyes from not sleeping, and his normally neat hair was unkempt.

"Oh—well—I've got to go soon, my mother's fallen sick and needs me at home... by tomorrow. I guess I am just rushing to get caught up with my school work."

"On just the first weekend of school?" Lily emerged from behind the pile of books and was staring at Remus suspiciously.

"Er—" he fumbled.

"Yeah, Dumbledore has it all arranged." James butt in.

"Oh." she said and returned to her books.

"Speaking of that," James pointed to his watch and nodded at Remus. "Don't you think it's time you headed up to our dorm and started to pack?"

Remus looked at James, then his watch and glanced discretely out the window.

"Er...Yeah, I should go." He packed his bags.

"I'll go with you. Bye Ally," he packed up too then smiled and waggled his eyebrows at Lily. "Good night, my love!"

"Meh."

Lily waited until they left the library and were gone for a few seconds before she slammed her book down on the table.

"Something is up!"

Ally looked at her in surprise.

"Every month Remus has the same old excuse! It's always that he has to visit his sick mother at home! It can't be that his mother is _that_ sick. I saw her last week in Diagon Alley and she was in perfect health!"

"Do you think that he goes somewhere else?"

"I don't know where he goes! He just disappears without a trace for three or four days!"

"Potter seems to have some sort of clue about what's going on."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well... he is his friend, do you think he knows?"

"He might..." Ally thought for a moment. "From what you're telling me... It is really suspicious."

They picked up their books and bags and started the long walk back to the common room.

"Maybe we could trick James into telling us?"

"No," Lily said as they climbed a flight of stairs. "Even James isn't that thick."

They stopped in front of the fat lady.

"Do you remember the password?" Ally asked.

"No... Maybe—"

They didn't have to worry any longer though because the portrait door swung open. They waited for whoever it was to appear... but no one came. Lily and Ally peeked around the portrait to see if anyone was there.

"Weird... Do you think that the wind blew it open?" Said Lily.

"No way! It's the common room; Dumbledore has better security than that!"

"Oh yeah," Lily looked around for clues. "Maybe someone opened it, than realized they forgot something, turned around to get it, and left the door open."

"I guess..."

They looked at each other skeptically and climbed into the portrait hole.

"I've got it!" Lily shot out of her seat.

Madam Pince looked at her murderously and she sat back down giggling with Ally. It was the middle of their second week at Hogwarts and they had been in the Library searching for a way to figure out where Remus went every month. They had been there everyday after classes and hadn't had any luck so far.

"Listen to this..."

The Polyjuice Potion combines several rare and powerful ingredients to give the drinker the power to change into the form of another. The drinker need only add a bit of the person they are going to change into and the effect will last an hour...

"So... What does that mean?"

"We could trick James or Remus or—or—Sirius, Peter probably doesn't know anything... Not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree." Lily was bouncing with excitement.

"But... What if they see us as them...?"

"What? We'll just run away... Do you think any of the professors will believe them if they say their carbon copies are running around?"

"Yeah! You're right! Everyone would think that they're just playing a prank and refuse to fall for it."

Ally and Lily looked at each other.

"Perfect." They said in unison. Slamming their books closed they began to plan.


	4. Chapter 4 Ingredients

Ch. Four Ingredients

Disclaimer: Everything except for my OC belongs to JK Rowling

Ally was eyeing her partner's cauldron. It was the next day after they had been at the library. Lily and Ally were trying to create a potion that would act as a cure for the common cold. Lily was at the front of the classroom. Looking back at Ally she pointed to the clock on the wall

Eleven twenty-four. Ally reached into her robes and drew a small tube filled with a blue substance out of her back pocket. Watching the Professor carefully her hand slipped over her partner's cauldron. As quickly as she could, she ducked under the table in time for purple ooze to explode out of the cauldron.

"Briggs!"

Briggs wiped the ooze out of his eyes.

"Yes pro—professor?" he stuttered.

"What in the world did you add?"

The professor continued to yell at Ally's partner while she slipped by and grabbed the keys to the store room off the professor's belt. Tossing them to Lily at the front of the room she went to distract Professor Slughorn more by cleaning up the ooze using a cleaning spell. (The spell made the potion expand and change colors every three seconds.)

"Oopsy!" giggled Ally.

Lily dodged her way around her classmates toward the side of the room. She unlocked the store room silently and crept in with her school bag.

"Lacewing..." She muttered to herself and began to throw random ingredients into her bag.

"Boomslang..." her wand turned red, five minute warning.

"Pixie ash..." she threw the rest of the ingredients in and rushed back into the room, closing the door with one hand and tossing the key to Ally with the other. Ally clipped the keys back on professor Trace's belt. Ally and Lily ran out of the room at the exact moment the bell rang for lunch.

They flew up to the common room with their bags bouncing against their sides. Turning a corner Lily nearly ran into a Slytherin who watched her and Ally run away.

They reached the common room and bounded up the stairs to their room gasping for breath.

"Where can we hide it?" Ally said slamming the door shut.

Lily sat down on her bad and looked around.

"Er—" She looked up. "Do you have a particular love for that disco ball up there?" she pointed.

Ally looked at her in silence before they both burst out into laughter. Ally grasped her side and slumped to the floor.

"That was so easy!" Lily gasped.

"I can't believe we got away with it!"

They paused for a second to calm down and Lily pointed to the ceiling.

"Help me get that thing down."

Ally took out her wand and with a (swish and) flick of her wand the disco ball floated down into her hands. She twisted the top off and it split in half.

"My poor disco dancing fever will suffer for this Lils... Don't worry though!" She petted the top of the disco ball. "You will be avenged!"

"Oh shush!" Lily said and took the bottom half. Turning it so it looked like a bowl she gently placed each ingredient in. Lily then twisted the two halves together (after prying the top part away from a melodramatic Ally) and levitated the ball to the ceiling again.

"I'll never forgive for that..." Ally wiped a fake tear from her eye.

"Do you think we can still make it to lunch?'

"I forgive you and yes!"

They dropped their bags off and headed down to the great hall for lunch.

"Wait!" Lily shouted holding out her arm to prevent Ally from entering the hall. "We haven't gotten all the ingredients for the potion _quite_ yet."

"What do you mean?" Ally looked at her curiously. "Di you forget something?"

"No of course not," Lily said with a dismissive wave and turned to face Ally. "The book said we needed a bit of the person we are going to change into right.

"Ok." Ally didn't catch onto things quickly.

"So..." she paused. "What we need is like a hair or something. I can take Potter easily. He never leaves me alone. But who are you going to change into?"

"Hmmm, If you're going to change into Potter than I should probably change into Peter. He is always trailing after him.

"No you can't, we already agreed Peter doesn't know anything, Remus wouldn't blab his secret in front of Peter, he would tell everyone."

"Guess I'll have to be Black then huh?"

"Yeah..." Lily's face lit up. "I have an idea! When we walk into the hall just follow my lead!"

Lily pulled Ally through the doors and down the long tables.

_Where is she going?_ Ally thought as she followed her. _We don't normally sit at this end of the table..._

Lily weaved her way around groups of students and finally sat down... right next to Potter.

"Afternoon James." she said and motioned for Ally to sit next to Sirius.

James looked over at Lily and gawked. Sirius had a look on his face as if he had just seen homework do itself.

Lily looked around James's head and pointed to Ally and then Sirius. With her hand she made plucking motion with her hand.

James and Sirius turned to look at Ally with the same dumbstruck look they had on their face.

_What could she mean...? Sirius... plucking..._

Lily slapped her hand to her forehead. Could that girl get any dumber? Lily grabbed a fistful of her red hair and shook it back in forth.

_Sirius... James... plucking... hair... Er...Pluck Hair... but who's?...Sirius...Sirius would know who's hair to pluck? _Ally gave Lily a confused look.

Lily was fed up. How hard is it for her to put things together? It's amazing she's as smart as she is if she just can't pick up the clues... Lily demonstrated using James. It was amazing that Sirius and James were still looking at Ally. She pointed to her than Sirius, then took her hand and plucked a piece of James' Hair.

_Ooooooooh... I get it._

Lily knocked over a basket of rolls to distract them to look at her.

Ally took the moment to pluck that piece which she held up triumphantly and showed Lily. When she saw the hair piece Lily shot out of her seat and pulled Ally up by the arm.

"Well..." Lily and Ally looked at each other. "Goodbye James." Lily said and they ran off out into the hall. Ally and Lily turned the corner too quickly and collided into a bulky body.

"Why don't you watch where you're going... you filthy little mudblood?" Flint sneered at Lily.

"Ignore him Lils" She said as he walked away. She reached down and stuck out her hand. Lily took it and stood up with her help.

"Hold on..." Lily took out her wand and made a slicing motion toward his head and as he turned the corner Ally could see his hair turn a rather attractive shade of pink.

"Nice... I would've gone for purple."

"No," Lily said as she looked at the ground. "Not nice... I lost James' hair."

"Oh no," Ally and Lily got down on their hands and knees and scoured the ground. They covered every inch of the hallway before they stood back up. "What are we going to do?"

"Uh—Er—Oh! I don't know. Just---I _CANNOT_ believe I am going to do this?"

"Do what? Lils?"

"Listen, when Potter comes out of the hall with his friends stall him, or just make sure you get him alone."

"Um...Ok?"

Lily sighed.

"Look even if I explained it to you it would take you forever to get it. You're good with books... but you can't take a hint."

"Right! Off I go then!" Ally said as students filed out of the great hall.

A large group of seventh year Ravenclaws blocked Ally's vision. She pushed through the crowd and spotted Potter at the back of the crowd. She was jostled and bumped but managed to push her way through to where his friends were.

"POTTER!" she shouted over the noise.

He turned around and looked at her as if she was crazy.

_Well that's expected.. We did act pretty weird..._

She made a 'come' motion with her finger.

_Yes my pretty... I need your hair..._

He rolled his eyes and followed her to the side of the hall where they could hear each other.

"What do you want?"

"Just wait... I don't know yet, Lily hasn't told me." She looked around and saw the crowd thinning out.

"What?"

"Just wait a sec."

"No way! Why are you acting so weird? What about Lil—"

He didn't get a chance to complete his sentence because he was spun around by Lily. She took his head in her hands and kissed him... on the lips...

_Wait a second...plucking..._

Ally picked her favorite little hair on his head and plucked.

Lily let go of his head and...

And...

And...

He fainted.

_Well that's another thing to be expected in his situation... With our luck he won't remember it._


	5. Chapter 5 Stalling

Ch. Five. Stalling

Disclaimer: Everything except for my OC belongs to JK Rowling.

A few weeks later a cauldron was brewing in the room. Don't ask where they got the cauldron. Lily managed to 'magic' one up one night. Nothing eventful had happened. Potter, surprisingly, hadn't told anyone about Lily's little kiss.

"Next thing you know you'll be dragging him into a broom closet!" Ally had said and Lily promptly threw a book at her.

They were avoiding Potter's entire group just in case they asked any questions... and if they did... They would deny it.

Ally and Lily were up in their room, sitting around, trying to come up with a decent plan that wouldn't blow up in their face.

"We have to distract the real James and Sirius on the day before Remus 'leaves." That would be the best time because I always see them talking about it."

Lily got up and started to pace back and forth across the room.

They had been trying to come up with a solution to their plan for the past couple of weeks while the cauldron was brewing. Everything they thought of either wouldn't stall them long enough, or Remus would be aware of where the real James and Sirius were. Ally yawned.

"I'm tired Lils, can't we just think of something to do about it later?" She said as she climbed into bed.

"But tomorrow is the day before Remus leaves! We need to think of something now; we won't have enough time tomorrow!"

"In the morning, it's too late now. We've been working on it all day long and need to get some rest." She glanced at the clock which blinked 1 AM back at her. Ally threw a pillow at Lily to emphasize her point. "Look, I can't even throw a pillow straight!"

Lily caught it and threw it back at her. Then she threw up her hands in defeat and got into bed.

"Fine, if worst comes to worst then I guess we could just knock 'em out and toss 'em in a closet." she sighed and pulled the blankets up high.

"Yeah," Ally mused "I bet we could totally whup their butts." and threw a punch in the air.

Lily laughed and turned on her side to face Ally. Imitating James she said in a helplessly pathetic voice.

"Lily! My love, my reason to live! Why are you doing this? I'm just a poor sexist, arrogant, egotistical pig who has no consideration for others!"

"Don't forget about that kiss you shared!"

"That was for education!"

"Right, 'education'..."

Lily sighed.

"Maybe we'll finally figure out why they call each other those stupid nicknames."

"Maybe they're innuendos."

"Huh?'

"Go to bed Lily."

The next day Ally woke up in their room and the sun was shining through the window.

"Lils." She went over to her friend's bed and shook her shoulder. "Hey Lils, you've got to wake up. Today's the day."

Lily opened her eyes and pulled her covers off groggily. Ally went to the bathroom and shut the door. Turning on the shower, she stripped and jumped in, beginning to wash her hair.

Now, if you have ever taken a shower, you know how loud it is. You also know how loud a scream would have to be that you would have to plug your ears while you were in the shower. Let's just say... Lily's scream was louder.

"ALLY"

"WHAT ARE Y—"

"IT'S ONE O' CLOCK!"

"IT'S WHAT!"

"IT'S ONE O' CLOCK! WE WOKE UP LATE!"

"Oh snap." Ally whispered before taking the fastest shower of her life. She put on the first clothes she could find and ran down stairs. Meeting Lily in the common room they raced down to their third timetable. Charms.

Lily and Ally burst into the room and the class turned around to stare at them. A group of Slytherin students in the back snickered at them. Well, Ally would admit she looked a bit ridiculous. Her hair was still wet and dripping, she wore a sequined dance top that was a bit revealing in the upper chest, and she had on her school uniform bottom. Lily had it about the same. Her hair was almost and red afro, she wore her tie die pajamas bottoms and flip flops, and her top was a black velvet halter.

"We woke up late professor." Lily gasped.

"Well, how nice of you to finally join us today," Professor Flitwick squeaked looking annoyed. "I'm afraid you girls arrived too late to have the choice of where you sit... Let's see..."

He folded his hands together looking around his eyes scanned the room. "Miss Evans over there next to Mr. Parkinson," Ally gave Lily a sympathetic look because when she sat down Parkinson scooted his chair closer "and Miss Pierce over there next to Mr. Black."

Ally took her seat and set her book bag down on the ground, trying not to attract too much attention.

"Class, please turn your books to page five hundred forty-three and we will discuss shielding charms."

Black passed a piece of paper over to her.

_So what was that whole thing at lunch about a couple weeks ago?_

Nothing. What, are we not allowed to sit with you guys or something?

_No, no, it's not that it was just a little weird._

What was so weird with joining our good friends for lunch?

_Well, it's a bit weird when they don't even eat. They just sit down, knock over some rolls, and then leave._

_Not as thick as I thought_, Ally thought when writing her reply.

We had to leave. Lily wasn't feeling to good.

_She looked fine to me._

It was a headache.

_Riiiiiiiight. Anyway, are you allergic to dogs?_

What sort of random question is that?

_Just answer it._

No, I'm not allergic to dogs, I love dogs, we have two chocolate labs at home.

_Oh, good._

Why is that _good_?

But Ally never got a response because Professor Flitwick was walking by and spotted the note. Taking it in his hand he crumpled it up and tossed it.

"Get back to work Mr. Black!" he squeaked.

"Sorry sir." He actually managed to sound like he regretted it a little. She was mistaken because as soon as the Professor left he turned and grinned over at Ally. She smiled back.

_Hard to hate._

Ally turned back to her work and tried to focus. However, her mind kept drifting to the more pressing matter at hand. How was she going to distract Sirius and James while they interrogated Remus?

_What are we going to do...? Oh, I should've listened to Lily and thought of something yesterday when we had time..._

She looked back at Lily who was pushing her chair farther and farther away from Parkinson. Then she looked over at Sirius who was whispering to James.

_Wait... Sirius and James... here... together... They're right here! What can I do now?_

She looked over at Potter and Black. With a twirl of her wand she jinxed their chair legs.

Sirius and James were still whispering to each other a little unaware of what the class was laughing at. Because for some reason they were bouncing up and down, bouncing up and down? What in the -?

The two looked down dumbly and pulled up their feet. The whole class laughed harder as they saw their chairs doing the jig.

"Students! What is so--?" Flitwick stared at Potter and Black who were in the middle of the class, their chairs in the middle of River dance. The class was hysterical by now and some Slytherins were close to tears.

"MR POTTER! MR BLACK! DETENTION TONIGHT!"

_Perfect..._ Ally thought and turned to give Lily the thumbs up sign and Lily smiled back.

Lily and Ally rushed out of the classroom.

"We have to find Remus before Potter and Black can tell him they've got detention."

"Yeah, that would ruin all our hard work."

"Not really, we could still knock them out."

"Oh right, that."

Lily and Ally came to the end of the hallway where it split in two directions. Lily made for the left and Ally walked toward the right.

"It works if we find either Remus or Black and Potter. All we have to do is keep them distracted and away from each other until dinner ends. Then we'll have our chance."

"Got it."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Can I change first?"

Lily looked at her incredulously before sighing.

"I guess if you pass by the dorms..."

"Ok, sweet."

Ally ran down the hallway and took a flight of stairs that led in the direction of the common room.

_Hey... I can cheat a little. I'll look in the common room as I'm making my way to the dorms. Yeah, that's it._

She ran up to the portrait of the fat lady.

'Leo Specus"

"About time she remembered it." The portrait mumbled at her retreating back.

The portrait flew open and she passed by the common room giving a quick look around.

_Books, chairs, a floating hat, annoying fifth years...Remus... Well, looks like everything checks out..._

She stopped on the stairs and looked back at the common room.

"REMUS!" she shouted and he looked up at her quizzically before looking at her up and down.

"Er...yes Ally?"

"Don't look at me like that! And...er..." She blanked for a moment before saying... "Could you help me with my homework?"

"Sure, what do you need help with?"

Ally remembered she finished all of her homework that she had gotten last night.

_Quick think fast!_

"Er...well I don't really need any help."

_That's totally thinking fast! Just not smart. We really should change that phrase to 'Quick think smartly fast' Ok, that doesn't make sense._

He closed his book and looked up at her kindly.

"So what do you need?"

She clambered down the stairs and sat down next to him.

"I need help with..." She bit her bottom lip. "With studying! I can't study by myself and I have a really bad Care of Magical Creatures test coming up! It's worth half of our semester grade."

Now that she got closer she saw that he wasn't looking so good.

"Actually, it would really just help me if you would stay. Right. Here." She backed up to the stairway. "Stay." she said again. "Staaaaaaaay." and she retreated up into the girl's dormitory.

Quickly drawing her wand out of her back pocket she wrote a note and held it up to her wand tip. It disappeared in a flash and she turned to her wardrobe. Changing into a pair of jeans and a black sweater she grabbed her book bag and ran downstairs.

"Good dog." she said patting Remus on the head.

He looked at her in alarm.

"What?" she said.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Whatever." She took out her 'Magical Maniacal Monsters' book and laid it in front of her.

"So you don't need my help?"

"NO!" she shouted and several people looked at her. "I told you I can't study alone. So just stay here."

"Er... Ok."

He opened up his book and continued reading.

Meanwhile...

Lily snatched the note in her hand as it flew out of her wand.

Lils,

I found Remus in the common room. Make sure Potter and Black are kept busy!

Au Revoir,

Al

"Great. Now if only I knew where Potter and Black were, then everything would be dandy!" She said and rolled her eyes.

Lily transformed her wand into a brush and ran it through her hair as she made her way deeper and deeper into the dungeons.

_Looks like a place a Slytherin would like to curl up in..._ She thought and her wand turned back into a wand. _Better be on my guard..._

She was walking down a particularly scary hallway decorated by old portraits and stopped to try and find out where she was.

"Shhh." she heard faintly.

She looked around wildly but there was nothing there. She held up her wand with both hands and raised it up to her eye level.

"Who's there?" she heard footsteps from around the corner.

_Funny, I heard the shushing sound on the other side of the room. _Then she remembered her thoughts about Slytherins lurking in the dungeons. _Better get out of here..._

Lily turned on her heel and walked further down the hallway. As soon as she was sure that the footsteps had gone out of earshot she let out a sigh of relief. Then they started up again in a faster pace.

She turned a corner and walked through the dungeon passages. Turning left and right to try and throw them off. The footsteps kept following her and she was getting frightened by now. Lily turned another corner and started to jog. Behind her she could still hear the footsteps getting faster.

Lily broke off into a run for the stairs and she could hear them right behind her.

She froze in fear as an arm slammed in front of her and blocked her off. Turning around another arm blocked her and she was pinned to the wall. She twisted her head to face her whoever it was holding her in place.

"Potter?"

"Lily! What do you think you're doing? Wandering the dungeons all alone? There are Slytherins down here! Imagine what they would do to you if they found you down here by yourself?"

She breathed a sigh of relief and rested against the wall.

"I wasn't unarmed you know."

"It doesn't matter! They wouldn't hesitate to gang up on you ..." He took her by the arm and led her around the dungeons until he found the stairs up. "Filthy Slytherins think everyone who's not pureblood is lower than them." He continued muttering under his breath and she caught wind of a few swear words. In a normal situation she would have chastised him but she was still relieved that it wasn't Flint that found her so she held her tongue.

They ran into Black when they got to the top of the staircase.

"What was she doing down there?"

"Don't know just found her running like mad."

Lily interjected.

"Wait." She thought back to the footsteps. "You weren't the one following me?"

_If they weren't following me... then... who was?_

Lily suddenly got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and she looked up to see Potter and Black giving her looks of concern.

"No..." Potter said looking at her curiously. "I was standing in the hallway when you came running down it."

Lily saw them look at her with pity and she broiled with anger all of a sudden. _What are they looking at me like that? I'm not some helpless child I can take care of myself. Even if a Slytherin did find me,_ She thought back to what James had told her about them not hesitating to gang up on her. _What would I do? Oh, forget about it already. They think that just because you're a girl makes you a wimp. _She remembered what Ally had told her about stalling them. _What can I do? Hold on. Play out the situation. All I have to do is act traumatized and James will cater to my every whim. Quick! Think back to that time Petunia tore up your teddy bear._

Tears started to brim in Lily's eyes. She slumped against the wall and faked some pretty decent sobs.

"Oh James! Sirius! There were f-footsteps following m-me and I was r-running from them and I had h-heard a v-voice saying SHHHHH!"

She overly exaggerated that one part.

"A-and James told m-me that Slytherins were g-gonna gang up on m-me a-and it's totally obvious that they w-were saying SHHHHH to each other s-so they could sneak up o-on m-me and—and--and..."

She trailed off into a round of sobs. Looking up discreetly to see their actions she could see that James looked absolutely helpless. _Good... Now it's time to lay it on thick._

"And w-what were you guys d-doing down their a-anyways?" She gasped in horror and looked at them in fear. "Y-you were plotting with them." She pointed an accusatory finger at them. "Th-that would be just l-like you! So m-mean and cr-cruel!"

She faked trying to get up and then collapsing against the wall in sobs.

"I h-hate you! W-why d-don't you just call you're Slytherin buddies out from the shadows to do away with m-me right n-now? OH SLYTHERINS! YOU"VE SUCCEEDED IN CAPTURING ME! COME OUT COME OUT—"

James had crouched down and slapped a hand over her mouth and she looked at them in disgust.

"Er...look Lily..." he slid down next to her and motioned for Sirius to sit on her other side. "We hate Slytherins in general. Do you think we would ever really plot with them?"

Sirius decided to add his two bits to the conversation and said cautiously.

"Besides that... could you ever imagine me and Snivellus working together?'

"W-well," she thought for a moment. "No."

"See? So we aren't working with the Slytherins to bring about your demise!"

"I guess."

She saw James shoot Sirius a grateful look

"That s-still doesn't explain why you were down here at all."

"Oh." James said and looked at Sirius who just shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head.

"Well... you were in Charms today right?"

"Y-yeah." Suddenly Lily burst out into sobs. "I was next t-to a SLYTHERIN!"

Later...

"S-so you guys were down here b-because you w-wanted to prank the Slytherins f-for making y-your chairs d-dance? A-and you weren't p-plotting with them because y-you hate them and you d-didn't speak to them over summer break a-and you have never had a-any friendly contact w-with them and t-that time I saw you talking to Snape w-was when you were t-threatening him and s-Sirius h-hates his entire family and even though t-the p-potter are purebloods y-you've never had any contact with the Dark Lord?"

"Yes..." James and Sirius were slumped against the wall tiredly trying to convince Lily for the past few hours that they were on her side.

Lily had stalled as much as she could. She asked them endless questions. Battering pretty hard on the topic of Sirius' family and their relation ship with You-Know-Who. Finally when they thought they had convinced Lily she was safe to trust them she would burst out into tears and call them 'mudblood haters' then try to run away and trip pathetically so they would run over and try to convince her all over again.

Lily looked down at her wand and quietly whispered a spell that made her wand shoot out the time. 'Six O Clock'.

Lily suddenly jumped to her feet in alarm.

"Wowyouguysit'slateandafterdinnerbetterleave!"

She started running down the hallway before Potter and Black yelled off to her.

"TELL REMUS WE HAVE DETENTION!"

"'KAY!"

She ran for a little longer, passing by the great hall and other empty classrooms before she stopped and squealed with delight.

_Perfect! I never thought I'd say this... but thank you James for being an idiot!_


	6. Chapter 6 Werewolves

Chapter Six:Werewolf

Disclaimer: All the content below except for my OC belongs to JK Rowling.

Lily was running through the halls of Hogwarts, making her way toward the Gryffindor common room. She checked her wand again as she was running. 'Six O five'. _I don't know how long the detention will last so we have to make it as quick as possible._

She stopped in front of the fat lady.

"Leo Specus" She tried to stop herself from breathing too hard as she slipped through the portrait hole. There were Remus and Ally, sitting on the couch engrossed in their books. Well, Remus was engrossed, Ally was watching a lady bug crawl across the window sill on the other side of the room. Luckily, they hadn't noticed her yet. She crept up behind Remus and waved obnoxiously over at Ally to catch her attention.

Ally POV

Ally had been sitting there for several hours now pretending to be studying. Whenever Remus had looked up, she would look at the text of the book with rapt attention and say something along the lines of 'never thought of it _that_ way' or 'learn something every day'. Every once and a while when she felt him watching she would turn the page to make it seem as if she were studying. The entire time thinking she felt shewould just scream if Potter and Black walked into the room.

Ally was beginning to lose hope when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. _Lily?_

Lily pointed to her Remus and Ally pulled out her wand. 'Vicis'. When nothing happened she sighed. _Such a stubborn wand_. 'Vicis commodo' she thought again and the time appeared. Six O seven.

Ally signaled to Lily to head upstairs and she silently put down her books. Remus had given up watching to see if she was studying and was thoroughly engrossed in his book by now. _How can that guy still be studying? It's been like four hours by now!_ She silently slipped up the girl's stair and Lily met her with the potion out on the floor.

"Ew." she said at the look of it.

It was a bubbling brown-grey potion with chucks of _something_ in it.

"Oh, buck up Als and deal with it. Just one chug and it'll be all over." She took a ladle and poured it into two glass cups they had smuggled from the kitchens a week ago for this purpose.

Ally looked at her as if she was crazy but decided to take her advice. _Just one sip..._

She looked at Lily who was wearing robes to big for her.

"You change fast!"

"Yep," She motioned over at bundle of clothes on Ally's bed. "Those are Sirius' I took them a couple days ago and they haven't noticed. Go change quickly!"

Ally pulled shut the curtains around her bed and swapped the clothes she was wearing with Sirius'. Opening the curtains she walked over and sat down next to Lily. Lily handed her her glass and they both slipped the hairs they had in. Ally's glass turned a dark glossy black and she looked over a Lily's which turned into a swirl of white and blue.

Weird... she thought before tipping her head back, plugging her nose and downing the potion. She swallowed it reluctantly, and in truth... it wasn't all that bad. It sort of tasted like pancake batter and she felt a tingling sensation all over her body. Looking down at herself she saw her body slowly morph into Black's.

(A/N To explain why it wasn't painful: I had this theory that the only reason Harry and Ron felt pain when turning into Slytherins was that the Slytherins were their moral opposites. So turning into them would cause them pain because they're souls objected to the Slytherin's bodies. Anywho, on with the story.)

Ally turned to look at Lily and nearly jumped.

"Wow, you have no idea how much you look like Potter right now..."

"Hmm, could that have anything to do with the fact that I'm in his body?"

"Now where would you get such a far fetched idea like that?"

Lily paused before saying something.

"Our voices haven't changed..."

Ally realized it too.

"I guess we'll just have to fake it." She lowered her voice. "Sound better?"

"Yeah a bit..." Lily paused and did the same thing. "How's this?"

"A little more arrogance and I think you've got it."

Lily laughed and nodded. They stood up and walked out of the room. Making their way down the stairs Ally stopped Lily.

"How are Potter and Black going to get away with walking down the girl's dormitory stairs? Everyone will talk about it."

"No worries, I already thought of that."

Lily pulled out her wand and peeked around the side of the stairs. After looking intently around the room for a few seconds she put away her wand.

"It looks like were in luck. The only person down there is Remus and a first year. Remus is too engrossed in his book and the first year is asleep on one of the big chairs."

"Really, and what about interrogating Remus? How are we going to do that? He's really smart, you know, and will pick up on something fishy."

"Don't worry, I've got an idea."

Ally looked at Lily curiously.

"Does it involve physical exertion?"

"No."

"Great, lead on."

Lily led the way down the stairs and Ally hung back. They both plopped down on the couch next to Remus and Ally kicked her feet up onto the coffee table. It just seemed like a Sirius thing to do.

Remus looked up from his book and his face showed that he was rather relieved to see them.

"Hey, where were you?" He closed his book in his lap.

"Getting back at some Slytherins." Lily—er—Potter said. "They thought they could get away with jinxing our chairs in Charms."

Remus laughed a little and Ally gave out a very Siriuslike bark of a laugh.

"Yeah, I heard about that."

Ally looked at Lily and nudged her in the stomach as if saying 'get a move on'. _The girl is taking forever we don't have that much time._ Lily took the hint and moved on.

"So, Remus, tomorrow we were thinking of sneaking out at night and breaking into the Quidditch pitch," Lily looked over at Remus as he paled a little. "So we could play a game of two on two or something... We never get caught."

Remus' eyes darted over to the little first year curled up in the arms chair and sat up straight, suddenly very alert.

"B-but I thought... tomorrow is the full moon..." He scrunched up his hair with one hand and looked at them confused. "I thought you guys were c-coming with me?"

Lily and Ally looked at each other.

"Oh yeah!" Ally said in fake recognition. "Forgot about your little thing there, Moony."

_Full moon... Once a month... Disappears for a few days... scratches on his face... Gosh I just wish I could put things together for once!_ She looked over at Lily who seemed to be in some sort of shock. _Huh... must've figured out what I can't..._ She turned back to Remus.

"We'll just schedule that trip for when you get back, alright?" She grinned madly at Remus who looked relieved and slumped back into the couch.

"Thanks..."  
"Yeah, no problem."

Alert. Lily shot up out of her seat and turned to Ally.

"Padfoot! We've got detention with Flitwick tonight! I almost forgot!"

_Wow, I guess we have detention now..._

"Oh, man!" Ally jumped out of her seat and looked down at Remus. "Sorry. We'll catch you later!"

Remus waved his goodbye and returned to his book. Lily and Ally bolted out of the common room. Lily was running too fast for Ally to keep up with and every time she turned a corner she almost lost her.

"Lils wait up! You said this involved no physical exertion!"

She finally turned the corner and rammed into Lily.

"What was that about!"

Lily turned and faced Ally; she put her hands on her shoulders with a death grip.

"Ally, think about it. He disappears once a month, for several days, comes back with scratches on his face, looks deathly ill, and he goes on a _full moon_."

Ally's brain processed for a while and Lily stood there waiting.

Ok...once a month...gone for a while...scratches...ill...and a _full moon._

"Lils, you _know_ I can't take a hint for the life of me... Is he a vampire?" she said sarcastically.

"No!" she said seriously. "He's a werewolf."

Three Days Later...

Remus had disappeared over the weekend as usual and Lily and Ally had spent the afternoons in the library reading over material on werewolves. Ally felt especially bad for Remus after reading up on how they were seen as followers of evil. It must be hard to deal with people looking down on you. She also didn't fell any better when she read about werewolves being put down like dogs while Grindelwald was alive.

Lily was still really peeved that Remus hadn't told her.

"I've known him for six years and he can only think to tell that idiot Potter and not me?"

Yes, about Potter. He seemed to slip into his old habits of annoying Lily again. He was constantly showing off in front of her onhis broomstick or pushing her buttons to start an argument. Never once did he mention that day in the dungeons.

WhenLily told Allyabout it, she didn't quite understand whatLily was hinting at. Then again, Ally never quite understood what anyonewas hinting at.

"So what you're saying is that there is a place in the dungeons where footsteps can be heard twenty-four seven?"

Lily slapped a hand to her forehead.

"No," she sighed. "I'm saying that I think Flint was following me."

"Creepy, how do you know it was him?"

"Call it intuition, but who else, besides Potter, would be wandering the dungeons following people?"

Ally and Lily were still in the Library and it was getting dark, they had been talking for ages. Well, Lily had been doing most of the talking. Ally had been thinking about how they were going to deal with Remus. There were two routes that they could take. They could either confront Remus about their suspicions, or they could ignore the fact that they ever found out he was a werewolf and wait until he was ready to tell them.

"I think we should wait, maybe he isn't ready to tell us yet?" Lily whispered from above her Herbology homework.

"But you know Remus, it could take him _years_ to work up the courage. I think we should just ask him about it and make it clear that we are still his friends no matter what. He may never ever tell us, and we don't know if it might be a relief for him to know that we know."

Lily sighed and rubbed her forehead in thought.

"Do we even know where he is right now?"

"Yeah, I went to the hospital wing earlier and saw a bed with all the curtains closed shut. That must be him. Visiting hours are after dinner. We should go see him and ask."

"Well, that sounds like a good idea."

"Great! Glad you agreed, I didn't want to ask alone." She slumped back in her chair, sighed and closed her book. "Maybe we could take some treats up to him... I bet Dumbledore wouldn'tcare if we stole a little food."

"That sounds like a good idea." She closed her book and began packing up all of her things. "It's about time for dinner now, pack up, let's go."

Ally picked up all her things and left the Library with Lily. They were heading down the hall when Lily stopped.

"Wait here," she said turning around. "I forgot to turn in a book."

She ran off leaving Ally alone in the halls.

_Well, la-dee-da, this is fun..._ Ally thought sarcastically. _Time of my life... really. _She started to whistle a tune. _What is taking her so long? The sooner she comes back, the sooner we go to dinner, the sooner we get to talk to Remus!_ She was getting really bored now. Swaying back and forth she started to hum Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'. _This is a good song... very upbeat and peppy._ She started to think about going back for Lily. Normally, she wouldn't take this long; it wasonly a three minute walk from the hallway to the library. Starting to get a little nervous, she walked down the hallway toward the library.

She started to jog and rammed into someone as soon as she turned the corner. She dropped her book bag and started to pick up her things. Whoever it was handed her her things and helped her up.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"What were you in such a hurry for?" She looked up at a familiar face a breathed a sigh of relief. _Not a Slytherin._

"Nothing, Sirius, I just can't seem to find Lily."

"That doesn't call for running!" He teased. "I thought you knew the rules Al!"

"Hey! I know the rules," she replied. "and since when do you call me Al?"

"'Picked it up from Lily. Sometimes she says Al or Als. I like Al. It's reminds me of my crazy Uncle Alfred."

"ER—right then."

"Well, hey," He turned her around and marched her in the other direction she was going. "Let's head down to dinner and we'll catch up with her there."

"Er—right then."

Sirius led her down the stairs and they entered the great hall together.

Ally wondered where she was going to sit. Should she sit next to Sirius? I mean, they were friends, at the least they were acquaintances. _Chances are though; he'll sit next to James and Peter_. _Lily won't be happy about that._

Sirius seemed to have already decided on that though. He made his way toward the center of the table. Just like she predicted, he sat next to James and Peter. So she sat next to him on the other side of the table. _Actually... If Lily sits next to me, then she will be pretty far away from James._ Most of the dinner went by without Lily and Ally was starting to get worried about where she was.

Halfway through dinner, Sirius and Ally were absorbed in a conversation about time travel.

"Ok, so if a person does go back in time, they would need to travel through a hole of a sort, like a worm hole or a black hole."

"Yeah, but say they did, they could only go back in time a few seconds, just long enough to see themselves go back through the worm hole. Then would their body be stuck in time repeating the same sequence of events?"

"They'd probably have to kill themselves. But would that kill their past self or would it kill their future self? It's very sketchy as to what the present is or the past is."

"Or they could just use a timeturner..."

Debating was one of Ally favorite things to do. Sirius was pretty good himself. She had actually forgotten about Lily for a few seconds before she came into the entrance hall.

"Hey," she said as she sat down. "You didn't wait."

Ally turned and smiled at her friend. "I know, but you have to admit, half an hour is pretty long for returning a book."

Lily looked shocked.

"Was I really gone that long?"

"Where were you?"

"I ran into someone who needed help with some potions homework. I would have turned them down, but I'm a prefect." Lily looked around and whispered in Ally's ear. "Or at least I have to look like one."

Ally laughed and turned back to her dinner.

Once they had finished eating they left the great hall and started the long walk to the hospital wing.

"What about Madam Pomfrey?" Ally asked Lily.

They couldn't exactly avoid her. She kept a very strict watch over all of the students under her care. Whenever she said anything concerning a patient, she meant it.

"We'll just tell her the truth; that we're there to see Remus."

"What if she won't let us see him? Dumbledore might've told her to tell anyone looking for him to go away."

"We'll insist. If she asks us any questions, we'll refuse to answer until we get to talk to him." Lily said determinedly.

"Good plan... What if she brings Dumbledore into it, though?"

"Same thing, I'm sure Dumbledore will let us through. It's not as if we're going on a werewolf hunt or anything."

"For all they know we are." Ally said. "But I guess there's no arguing with you. We'll just address her upfront."

"Yep."

The rest of the way to the Hospital wing was spent in silent, each of the girls thinking over what they were going to say. Ally's thoughts were buzzing around her head. _I wonder if he'll be mad at us. Maybe he thinks we'll tell the whole school. Do all the Professors know about it? How do his parents treat him... his entire family? How do we explain how we found out? Does he know any other werewolves? Does her remember when he was bitten, _who _bit him? _Her thoughts continued on that way for a while and she was growing more and more anxious as she climbed the steps. _I never remember the walk to the hospital wing being this long... Wait... I've never even _been_ in the hospital wing! Shouldn't I be glad about that?_

They reached two very large white doors.

"Ready," Lily asked holding one of the doorknobs, prepared to turn it.

"Ready."

She pushed open the doors and the hospital wing came into view.

It was quiet, very quiet. There were rows of beds that lined each side of the room, some were filled with students and others were empty. The entire aura of the place felt clean and white and neat.

There was one bed with the curtains fully closed around it. She looked at Lily and her head nodded in that direction. They both walked toward the far end of the room and the closed off bed, knowing that that was where Remus was.

"Hold on a second." Madam Pomfrey came abruptly into view. "Just what do you two need that's on this side of the room?" She raised her eyebrows.

Ally looked around and then whispered urgently to Madam Pomfrey.

"We _need _to speak with Remus. Please Miss Pomfrey, it's really important."

She could see her eyes widen and quickly survey the room for any eavesdroppers that might be listening in on their conversation.

"How do you know anything about that?" She looked at Lily and her very suspiciously and there was a slight hint of fear in her voice.

"Never mind that," Lily interjected. "We really need to speak with him. And don't say he's too ill, we _know_ he's had enough time to recuperate, it's been three days."

Madam Pomfrey sighed and shook her head in defeat.

"Alright, alright, you can go in." She straightened herself back up and added sharply. "I'll be telling the Headmaster about your little visit though."

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey." Ally replied and they lifted the edge of the curtains, slipping inside.

There was Remus as they had predicted. _He looks a little scratched up, but at least he looks better than he looked four day ago._ He had small scratches on his face and arms. It didn't look as if he was badly wounded at all. He was sitting there with his head propped up by several pillows, and in his hands was his DADA textbook.

When they came in he looked up and nearly dropped the book out of his hands. He fumbled to catch it and stared at them in surprise.

Lily didn't say anything and for a while the three of them just stood there looking from one person to the next. Ally was expecting Lily to say something, but she seemed lost for words, every once and a while she would open her mouth and then close it, about to say something. _She looks like fish out of water. So... I guess I'm starting off the party._

"Remus?" his head snapped at attention to her. "Are you a werewolf?"

He lowered his head at her question.

"How'd you figure?"

Lily all of a sudden jumped to life.

"You disappeared every full moon for several days." she said.

"You came back with scratches." Ally added.

"You look horribly ill beforehand."

"Your mum's in perfect health."

"Have a fetish for magical creatures."

"You're a brunette aren't you?"

"You look jumpy and cover it up whenever anyone asks—What does him being a brunette have to do with anything?"

"I dunno, just wanted to keep the ball rolling." Ally shrugged her shoulders.

"Right. You know, Remus, you're still our friend no matter what."

"And we understand why you never told us."

"Never."

"Ever."

'Told us."

"Even though you never told us we won't treat you any differently."

"Yeah, you're still that geek in the bookstore!"

"We love you and hope you never, ever change."

"Never."

"Ever."

"Ever."

"Ever."

"Ever?"

"Yes, ever."

"What if I want him to be rich?"

"Be quiet Ally."

They both finally stood silent enough to hear Remus' reply. He was looking very downcast at them and his eyes were closed.

"I'm sorry."

Lily sat down next to him on the bed.

"It's okay. We won't tell anyone. But why didn't you tell us before?"

He sighed and set his book down. He opened his eyes and looked at them both. Lily was looking very sincere and sympathetic.

"I don't know. I guess I thought you guys would look at me like I was a freak."

"You're onlya freak if you read the all the Harry Potter books in one sitting." Ally snorted and Remus smiled.

(A/N hee hee.)

"Al." Lily said sharply.

"Sorry, but it's true." She sat on Remus' other side and looked him in the eye. "No one is really a freak Remus. I have my weird little things too, I may not turn all hairy like you do, but trust me, on the weirdness scale, I beat youin the long run."

He smiled up at Ally.

"Thanks, Al.'

"Yeah about that," She scratched the back of her head. "Why is everyone calling my Al?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"I heard Sirius use it."

"Foiled again." Ally muttered.

"Sooooooo... are we good?" Lily asked.

"Oh!" Ally tapped Remus on the shoulder and he turned to look at her again. "And if we aren't good, I can tell you everything about Lily that makes her a freak. Seriously, there was this one time with a pair of socks—"

She was cut off when Lily threw a pillow at her.

Later in the evening.

Ally returned with Lily late in the night after spending the afternoon chatting with Remus. At around eight o clock they had opened up a bag of chocolate frogs and snacked a little while Remus told them everything. From the when he was bitten, to the Whomping Willow. Ally felt an enormous amount of gratitude toward Dumbledore. _If it weren't for him Remus would never be able to come to school. Any other Headmaster would turn him away... but not Dumbledore._

When they came back to the common room at around ten o clock there was a large group of people gathered around the message board. Debapria came and dragged Ally and Lily to the message board.

"What's going on?" Liy asked.

"First Hogsmeade trip! It's scheduled for the weekend before Halloween!" Carla joined the throng. "We should all go together, I hear that there is a house that's haunted."

"And there's Zonkos!" Debapria shouted. "That's the best joke shop ever!"

"Honeydukes is the best!" Lily said looking as excited as the rest of them.

"We could go to the three broomsticks." Carla said shyly.

They all looked at her expectantly, waiting for what her favorite thing to do at Hogsmeade was.

"Well," she smiled, "I just looooove to shop."

Ally stayed up late writing a letter to her mother.

_Mum,_

_Hogwarts is great, I'm so glad you sent me here for my sixth year. I have tons of friends, but my best friend would have to be Lily Evens. Lily's in my year and we get along great. There's also Remus who's pretty awesome._

_Guess what? The weekend before Halloween we get to go down to Hogsmeade. It's a little village next to the school. There's a sweets shop, a joke shop, a pub, and everything else. There are even some rumors that there is a really old haunted house down there._

Ally smiled when she wrote that, knowing the true nature of the building.

_I was wondering if you would sign the permission slip in this letter saying that I could go down. I really want to spend some time with my friends down there, and I can't if I don't have your permission._

_Another thing, I don't mean to be rude, but do you think I could stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break? I totally understand if you already have an outing planned and it isn't possible for me to stay. Thought I would ask you early._

_Love,_

_Ally_

_P.S.- _

_-My friends call me Al!_

_Thanxs to greenday and hp, Delilah Evans, and TrisakAminawn! My first Reviews.. ever. O.o_


	7. Chapter 7 Hogsmeade and Letters

**Shout out to...**

**xDarkHorsex for being so nice and giving great reviews.**

**Rylie D I will update. XD**

**And just so everyone knows... I don't know British slang, and I certainly don't know what they said in the seventies so... I just thought I'd clarify for anyone who planned on sending me hate mail.**

Chapter 7. Hogsmeade and Letters

The whole school was getting wound up about Hogsmeade.The younger students were very down because they weren't old enough to go. All the girls were talking about what they were going to buy and who they were going with. The guys were happy that Zonkos had recently received a new shipment of products. Ally heard James talking about it rather animatedly in the common room one night. _Looks like he's got a knack for troublemaking... doesn't surprise me. _

Ally wasn't excited about any of that though. At first, she was just like the other girls, but then she received her mother's reply.

_Al,_

_I feel very happy calling you your new nickname, it fits you._

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

_I'm really glad that you have lots of friends, and this school isn't like Beauxbatons. Lily sounds like a great friend and I hope you get along well._

_Hogsmeade sounds great! I enclosed the permission slip you sent me; don't forget to give it to your teacher so you can go. Be careful about any haunted buildings, teenage witches and wizards have been known to play pranks._

_Do you remember your cousin Haley? Well, while we're talking about Hogsmeade, your cousin has offered to meet you there! She says she's got a surprise for you and your friend. Don't badger me with questions because I don't know what she has in store._

_I have discussed it with your father; we both agree that it is perfectly alright for you to stay over Christmas break. With our free time maybe we'll plan a vacation._

_Write to me often, I don't want us to lose touch!_

_Love,_

_Mum_

"So what do you think your cousin is going to give us?" Lily asked Ally.

"Who knows?"

Ally had gotten her letter earlier that week, during breakfast. She had been very happy to see her old family owl again; it was a short eared owl that her father had tamed back in France. She wished it would have stayed a little while longer, but after a quick drink, it took flight in a flash.

There really wasn't anything new to report. Every day Lily and Ally would either go to the Library and study, or go back to the common room. Lily would content herself with reading a book, while Ally would play card games with Sirius, or joke around with Pria and Carla.

The most interesting part of the day was, by far, what idiotic way James would ask Lily on dates. In the hallways, the common room, the library, the owlery, the astronomy tower... even during class. Ally giggled at the memory.

"Any questions class, so you can get to work?" Professor McGonagall said.

"Professor," James held up his hand and stood up, "I have a question."

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

He turned to Lily, smiling confidently.

"Lily, will you go with me to Hogsmeade?"

The whole class had erupted in giggles and laughter, while Lily turned beet red (not with embarrassment but anger) and put her face down on the desk.

Ally teased Lily to no end about that moment.

"Oh, Lily," she sighed, "If only all of us single gals was as lucky as you are in your love life, with a proposal every five minutes!"

"Oh, shut it." Lily would say and throw whatever was closest to her at Ally, normally a book or quill. One time, Ally was lucky enough to be barraged with a basket of rolls.

"What is with you and rolls?" she asked, taking a bite out of the one she caught.

"Yeah," Sirius joined in on the conversation, "What I wonder is what would happen if Jamesy was made of rolls."

"She would be snogging him silly right now."

They both looked at Lily and then James.

"Sad." they said in unison.

"Meh," Lily replied, returning to her dinner.

"So what are you two going to do at Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Ally's got her cousin coming to give her a gift."

"Oh," Sirius looked over at Ally, "Pray tell, what _is_ this _gift_?"

Ally thought for a moment.

"Don't really know. My mum said it was for me and Lily. It's from my cousin Haley and she's pretty awesome, so I'm sure it isn't a bad gift."

"Where are we going to meet her?"

"Don't know, but don't worry. Once she sees me she'll scream and shout and we won't have _any_ trouble finding her." She rolled her eyes.

"Family trait," Sirius asked.

"Naturally," she said stiffly. "Every Pierce had been _known_ to make a fool of themselves frequently. It's our trademark! You commoners have no idea orf true nobility."

Turning her nose up snobbishly, Ally stood up.

"Come dearest Lily," She grabbed Lily by the arm and hoisted her up, "We aren't welcome with these peasants."

"Yea, verily," Lily imitated and they walked out of the great hall arm in arm.

The Next Day...

**_Bang, bang, bang._** Ally pulled the pillow over her head. **_Bang, bang, bang._** _What is going on? Who's making that noise? _It took a while for Ally to process what was happening and she opened her eyes wearily.

"Lil..." She murmured.

"Meh?"

"I think someone is at the door."

**_Bang! Bang! Bang!_**

"Really?"

"Yeah, really, and I think they want in..."

"No... I don't think so..."

**_Bang! Bang! Bang!_**

"You're probably right. I think they might be mistaken. They're obviously confused; everyone knows certain death meets anyone who wakes us up." Ally replied.

"Yes, they are deranged... that is the only solution."

"Yea, verily."

**_Bang! Bang! Bang!_**

"I wonder when they will realize that they're witches, and can open the door at any time they wish."

They both heard small whispers behind the door, then a shushed. 'Alohomora'.

"Why are they being so silent now?" Ally asked. "There's no chance for a surprise attack now."

The door creaked open, admitting Pria and Carla to their dorm.

"Whoa!" Pria exclaimed. "Your room is so fabulous!"

Ally and Lily laughed into their pillows. Peeking out from under the covers, she could see them looking around in amazement. Carla curled her toes up in the rug and Pria was poking every thing.

"Aren't you up yet?" Pria asked after a while.

"After that incredibly rude awakening, I'm split between falling back asleep or waking up to bash you over the head, then falling back asleep." Lily said.

"Ah," Ally said wisely, "I too, am suffering from the same internal conflict. However, I have a better work ethic than Lily and will now rise to greet the morning."

She threw off the covers and stretched.

"Cool pajamas." Pria said.

Ally looked down at her pajamas. They were light blue and the front of the shirt said 'Beauxbatons prep...' while the back said '... aka Psycho'

"My mum got them for me. She said they reminded her of me... She never explained why."

They laughed and Ally got up to take a shower and change. As she did, she could here the distinct sounds of Pria and Carla trying to force Lily out of bed. _Good luck with that... _she thought. When she was done she marched over to Lily's bed and whispered in her ear.

"Lily, James is in your bed."

She shrieked, jumped out of bed, grabbed her wand and pointed it at the pillow while Pria and Carla collapsed into giggles.

"That. Was. Not. Funny." Lily seethed.

"No, it wasn't," Ally conceded, "but I simply had to show our friends the rare sighting of the red haired afro."

Pria and Carla made fake ooooohs and aaaaaaahs while Lily tried to flatten out her hair. She huffed and retreated to the bathroom to get ready.

"Are you wearing that?" Pria asked as she looked at her up and down.

"Yeah, why?" She glanced at her attire in the mirror. She wore her normal school uniform.

"Because it isn't required for you to wear a school uniform, didn't anyone tell you?"

"Great!" She changed and Lily and their friends to headed down the castle to the entry hall. There was a group of students already milling around, talking and joking. Ally separated from her friends for a moment to find Professor McGonagall and give her her permission slip.

Then, she rejoined her friends in line waiting to be checked off for the trip. When they were ready, they left the castle through the great doors.

The carriages were already waiting for students and Ally, Lily, Pria and Carla all climbed into one carriage.

"Does anyone know what pulls these carriages?" Ally asked when they had all settled in and had started moving.

"They're pulled by thestrals," Carla said, "At least, that's what Hagrid, the groundkeeper says."

"Hagrid?"

"He's been groundkeeper for a while," Pria interrupted, "He's really tall, nearly twelve foot! People say he used to be a student here. Can you imagine him in Charms class compared to Professor Flitwick?"

"If he's a wizard he doesn't show it. I've never seen him do a spell of any sort; he carries around that umbrella, not a wand." Lily said doubtingly.

"Maybe he was expelled," Pria shrugged her shoulders.

"Who would expel Hagrid though?" Carla said, "He's such a sweetheart! I've never seen him be mean to anyone. He's so optimistic, too!"

"You don't know if he even was a wizard in the first place, Carla." Lily remarked. "From the look of him, I'd say he was at least a half giant or more."

"How do you figure that?" Ally said.

"Well, besides his height," Lily replied. "I've seen him get hit by those Herbology plants, the ones that shoot stunners out, and he wasn't affected at all. Only a giant could have that tough skin."

They stopped talking as the carriage came to a stop at Hogsmeade.

Ally was first out as soon as they stopped. _Nice._ she thought, surveying her surrounding. There were several streets branching off of the main one, shops and pubs lined the streets. It was a crisp autumn day and Ally pulled her cloak closer as she had seen her friends do the same.

"Where to first?" she inquired when they were all standing in the street.

"Honeydukes!" Carla said excitedly.

Ally spent the rest of the time being carted off to every notable store her friends could think of. Nearly all of the spending money she had been given was gone by the time they withdrew to the Three Broomsticks. Ally had bought several sugar quills at Honeydukes after hearing excellent recommendations from Carla. Then they went to the bookstore for Lily to pick out a pile of books.

Pria had nearly dragged her to Zonkos. When they got there she spoke to the owner, they looked like good friends. Apparently, Pria's mother had done the Zonkos owner a favor and Pria convinced him to allow her and her friends into the backroom.

"Where all the good stuff is hidden..."

Ally looked through several boxes with her friends, she decided on a black and white striped wizard hat. When she first put it on she was reminded of the sorting hat.

_I see you met my brother then... _The hat whispered in her ear.

She jumped up and tore the hat off. Her friends laughed at the look on her face.

"What's with the hat?" Lily said.

"I don't know," Ally replied. "But I guess I'll buy it."

The rest of the day she wore the hat around Hogsmeade. It would say the most ridiculous things at moments. Sometimes it would comment on what people wore, what they bought, what house they were in...

_Hey girl... see that Hufflepuff? She's cheating on her boyfriend! I saw it earlier in the shop._

_Oh, I wish I was human..._

_That person should be in Ravenclaw... not Gryffindor! I should really have a talk with that brother of mine._

_How many Slytherins does it take to screw in a light bulb? Come on, guess!_

"Don't be silly Ally, take off that crazy hat, we're inside!"

_Crazy am I? _The hat said _Why I ought a..._

"Fine..." She said sadly and put the hat away.

"So when are we meeting your cousin?" Lily asked, "You said she'd be here."

"Oh, I don't know," Ally said. "All I know is that she's going to be here."

"She better be here soon. We only have an hour and then McGonagall wants us back at the castle."

"Yeah."

_Lily has a good point._ Ally considered. _If she doesn't get here soon then we'll just have to leave without seeing her. I wonder what she has to give me._ She thought this over as her friends joked around and sipped drinks. She tasted her Butterbeer warily and looked out the window. Watching everyone who walked by, she began to wonder if her cousin was even coming. _It's not like Haley, she's so responsible. _

When the clock struck five, their group left the Three Broomsticks. She kept looking constantly, having not lost hope. They joined the large group of students waiting for the carriages to appear. While her other friends were talking she pushed her way through the crowd trying to find Haley.

"ALLY! ER—AL—HEY IDIOT!" She heard behind her.

Ally spun around in time to be swept up in a big hug. She was released and looked up at her cousins beaming face. She wore a violet robe contrasted with a red hat and her blonde hair was tied up in a top knot. Her eyes were a bright brown behind her square glasses.

"Haley!"

"The one and only!" she said, "Listen, I know you don't have a lot of time, I got caught up in trying to get your present!"

She pulled out an envelope and handed it to her.

"This is for you and your friend! Don't lose it!" She smiled and hugged her one last time before aparating.

"Who was that?" Pria asked as her friends suddenly surrounded her.

"My cousin," Ally replied and looked at the big envelope in her hand.

"That was your cousin?" Lily said looking at her. "But I didn't even see her!"

"Sorry," A carriage pulled up to them and they got in, "I barely got to see her myself. She gave me this."

Ally showed her friends the large envelope and they looked at it curiously.

"Open it later in our room," Lily said. "We don't know what it is yet."

Pria and Carla agreed with Lily and they spent the rest of the ride in silence.

Later...

"Well," Lily pushed the envelope towards her friend, "Open it!"

They were up in their room and Carla and Pria had joined them in curiosity.

Ally took her wand and tore through the top. She slid out whatever was in it and three letters fell to the ground, two black letters and a white one.

Ally picked up the white one that was labeled 'read first'. She tore it open and read it aloud to her friends.

_Al,_

_Hey girl, how the heck are ya! Sorry we've been out of touch. There have been a lot of things going on with my life. I finally joined a magical law firm and moved into a new apartment in the city! Yay!_

_When your mum told me that you were moving to the UK I was so excited. I was very happy to hear your nickname was Al because my nickname is Hal! We rhyme! Pause for laughter._

"Ha... Ha..." Pria said sarcastically.

_The black envelopes I sent you and your friend are my gift to you. Wear black and white and have fun!_

_Love,_

_Hal_

"So what are the black envelopes?" Carla said.

'I don't know. Haley didn't really reveal anything." Ally replied.

"All she said was 'wear black and white and have fun'." Lily agreed.

"Should we open them now?"

"Guess so."

Ally and Lily each picked up a black envelope. Ally observed that there was a pattern on the edges that looked very intricate. On the other side there was the seal of her Uncle's Hospital.

_Weird..._

She opened the seal and pulled out a black piece of paper with slanted white writing on it. It said...

**My first cliffhanger! evil laughter**


	8. Chapter 8 A Peck on the Cheek

**Back to the story... And by the way, the founder of St Mungo's was named Mungo Bonham... So I did my homework.**

_The Management of St. Mungo's_

_Requests the pleasure of your company at_

_The Annual Black and White Charity Ball_

_In Bonham Hall_

_October 31st_

_At 8pm_

"Oh no," Ally said.

"What?" Lily replied, "This sounds like fun!"

"We have to dress up!" Ally groaned.

"You guys are so lucky." Pria said. "That's supposed to be really elite and sophisticated."

"So how did you get an invitation?" Carla asked, "And why is Lily invited?"

"My uncle, Haley's dad, is the owner," Ally said, "He probably invited Lily for me because he didn't want me to invite a guy."

"Makes sense," Pria said, "Can Carla and I pick out your outfits?"

"Have fun," Ally said, then she picked up a pillow and stuffed it over her face, muttering something that sounded like swears.

"You guys can pick out mine too," Lily said, "I honestly don't care what I look like."

"Yay!" Pria said and jumped up, Carla followed suit.

"We'll see you both tomorrow!" she said and then they were gone.

Lily pulled the pillow off of Ally's face and tossed it back on her bed.

"Did it say anything else?"

"Which letter," Ally replied dully.

"Haley's, she's more affectionately known as Hal."

"No," Ally picked up the white letter and skimmed through it again. "Life...Hal...envelopes...wear black and white... Nothing else."

"It left out how we're going to get there."

"Floo powder probably," Ally said, "We aren't old enough to apparate, I'll write my uncle, he'll arrange for something."

"Yeah, I guess." Lily smiled.

"What are you so happy about," Ally exclaimed, "We're going to have to wear dresses and—and heels!"

"So what!" Lily cried, "I've never been invited to a wizard's ball! I've never even been to a muggle ball."

"Oh yeah," Ally said, "I forget your muggle born sometimes."

"Hmm," Lily laid her head back on the floor and fell silent. "Want to flip a coin for who wears black and who wears white?"

The third week into October...

Ally and Lily had agreed to keep the invitation to them selves. One week had passed since they received the envelope and Ally had written the letter to her Uncle asking about how they were going to get there. Other students whose parents had upstanding roles in society had gotten invitations and word had traveled who was going. Ally had heard of a girl and boy Ravenclaw going and one Hufflepuff. She wasn't pleased at all when she heard that Lucius Malfoy, a very obnoxious Slytherin seventh year, was also going.

(A/N I have no idea if Lucius was a seventh year, but I just wanted to call him obnoxious.)

(A/N and rude...)

Like all Hogwarts gossip, the news disappeared in a few days, and Ally and Lily were relieved when the buzz died out.

They were walking from Transfiguration to Charms, talking about their last class.

"I can't believe we've got to do an entire report on the effects of veritaserum! What are we supposed to say? It makes you don't lie." Ally said stupidly.

"Now that is one heck of an essay, Al!" James appeared in the middle of them and slung her shoulder around Lily.

"Ew, Potter!" Lily exclaimed and pushed him away.

"You're getting violent as of late, Lil!" James said.

"You're not allowed to call me that!" Lily fumed.

"Don't be concerned, James," Ally countered. "I thought you liked her for her mind, not her temper."

"True," James said, "And she's hot."

Lily's went from annoyed, to shocked and disgusted.

"Don't start Potter!" she said as her face turned red with anger. "Not in the hallways."

James and Ally swiveled their heads around, looking for any other students.

"Lil, there's no one _in _the hallways."

Sure enough, they were the only ones around.

"Well... It's still the hallways!" She replied, disgruntled.

"You just _can't_ ever deal with the fact that you aren't always right, can you?" James argued. He turned back to Ally when Lily took on a murderous look.

"I think you should write that essay," He said. "I'm sure the student body would support you. At least, the marauders and I would."

"Marauders?" Ally asked curiously while Lily was muttering curse words under her breath.

"Sirius, Remus, Peter and I, all call ourselves the Marauders." He said, "Do you like it?"

"Love it!" she exclaimed, "I was just thinking Lily and I need a name."

"Really," he glanced at Lily, "So what have you come up with?"

"So far nothing," Ally replied, rather disappointed, "The only thing I have noticed about our names is that they both have two L's, and they rhyme."

"That is a coincidence," He said, "Perhaps a play on words?"

"Nah," Ally said, "I'm not good with riddles or puzzles."

"Tell me about it." Lily grumbled under her breath.

"I was thinking..."

Ally suddenly jumped and snapped her fingers in realization. The two other students stopped to look at her with interest.

"I've got it!" she said, "Lally!"

"Lally..."

James exchanged a look with Lily. _That's a first. _ Ally thought.

"That's creative..." Lily said, "But perhaps it's best if... we _don't _have a name for our selves, Ally."

Ally sighed in disappointment.

"Well... if you say so."

Ally could have sworn she heard a sigh of relief from Lily.

"Well, girls, onto the subject of why I have contacted you." James said as they continued walking.

"You mean it's not to harass Lily?" Ally said.

"Whatever gave you that idea!" James exclaimed, and then continued, "No, has the matter of the annual charity ball for St Mungo's come to you attention?"

Ally and Lily looked at each other, each knowing what the other was thinking. _Does he know we're coming? How? Pria and Carla must've have let it slip! I knew we should have opened the envelope privately! Oh, this is horrible; he'll be bugging us about this forever! Lally, going to a ball!_ James looked at them oddly, probably wondering why they were looking at each other so oddly.

"Well," he said, "Have you?"

"Have we what?" Ally said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Heard of the ball."

"Oh," she glanced at Lily, "It's been mentioned in passing."

"Well great!" he said grinning, "Then you will be pleased to know that I have received an invitation."

"You _what_?" Lily said sharply.

"I've gotten an invitation!" he said, "You see, my dad is very good friends with the president of the board of advisors for St Mungo's, and he managed to get an invitation for my entire family... and I get to invite a friend!"

He looked purposefully at Lily when he said that last part. She shirked it off and ignored his looks at her.

"Well," Ally said, "Good for you."

"So..." He was still looking at Lily. "Don't you want to go with me, Lily?"

"I think you know my answer by now, Potter," she said stiffly.

"Er—right then," He messed up his hair, "Pick you up at eight."

Lily turned on James quickly.

"Listen Potter," she said, fuming, and stabbed a finger at him "I have never been interested in going out with you and I never will be! I'm not impressed that your father got tickets and I'm not impressed with your Quidditch skills. So just... _Leave. Me. Alone._"

James looked crestfallen.

"Guess I'll invite Sirius to go with my family then. We'll probably have more fun crashing the party anyway."

"Sounds like fun," Lily said uninterested and turned on her heel. She entered the Charms classroom a few feet away of where they had been talking.

"Riiiiiiiight," Ally said, more to herself than anyone else, "I'm just an innocent bystander... And I didn't see anything."

James and Ally entered the classroom after Lily. James made toward the front of the classroom and Ally went to where Lily was sitting, in the far corner.

Class started soon after they entered and Lily and Ally focused on turning their rat into a throw pillow. From where she was sitting, Ally could see James talking to Sirius in the front of the class. She saw James and Sirius turn to look at Lily and when they saw Ally looking back at them, they quickly turned their heads back at the blackboard.

Flitwick was in the middle of his lecture on the importance of enunciation, when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The class turned to look at the door. A small boy, he looked to be about first or second year, was admitted. He had brown messy hair and looked rather afraid of entering a classroom full of upperclassmen.

"P-Professor," he stuttered.

Ally saw some of the Slytherins in the back snicker and she threw her throw pillow at them to shut them up. Seeing this, the boy continued on a bit more confidently.

"The Headmaster has sent me to get Ally Pierce and Lily Evans."

Everyone watched as Lily and Ally picked up their books slowly and followed the boy out of the room.

"Must've thrown too many throw pillows," Ally heard before the door closed behind her.

Five minutes later after walking in silence...

"Excuse me." Lily said politely as they were walking down the hall. "Did Dumbledore say why he wanted to see us?"

The little boy looked up at her.

"He didn't tell me."

"Oh, okay, thank you."

They reached a great stone gargoyle in the middle of the hall. The boy stopped in front of it and addressed the gargoyle shakily.

"Eye poppers?" he said.

(A/N Eye poppers were a brand of very sour jawbreakers in the 1970's... Yeah, that's right, I took muggle studies.)

The gargoyle jumped aside to reveal a stone staircase, leading up beyond their sight. The little boy led them up the staircase. When they reached the top, they found a small hallway. The boy ran and sat down on one of the waiting chairs next to another, older, girl. She had dirty blonde hair that blended with her grey eyes.

"Sit down." She said, smiling at them, "Dumbledore told us to wait out here for a moment while he speaks to the Divination Professor."

They sat down on the other side of the hallway, facing the boy and the girl.

"Why are you guys here?" Ally asked.

"We're being introduced to the school," the older girl replied, "Dumbledore has allowed us to join in the middle of the school year."

"What year are you going into?" Lily asked.

"My little brother," she placed a hand on the shoulder of the little boy next to her. "...is going into his second year."

"And you?"

"I'm going into my sixth—"

"Stand up." Ally demanded.

"Wh—"

"Stand. Up."

She looked at Ally as if she was insane, then finally conceded to her and stood up from her seat. Ally stood up at the same time then shouted.

"Damn!" she exclaimed.

The other girl looked offended.

"What did I do to earn—?"

"You're three inches taller than me!" she whined then turned to Lily. "I'm still so short!"

The other girl looked puzzled for a moment, then burst out in giggles.

"I thought that was some sort of sixth year initiation." she laughed. "Being home schooled, I'm not used to having peers."

"Don't mind Ally," Lily said watching Ally bounced her head repeatedly against the wall, "My name is Lily."

"Hi," she said, "My name is Samantha. Sam for short."

Ally looked up from bashing her head.

"Sam? _Sam_? A guy nickname!" She shouted. "What is with the guy nicknames? First there's Al, then there's Hal, and now Sam has joined the bandwagon. We should start a club - girls whose parents secretly wish they were guys! It's like fate is slightly gender confused!" Dumbledore opened the door behind her while she was talking and stood silently smiling, waiting for her to finish. Professor Trelawney traveled down the stairs and out of view. "—and that's not all of it! What? Is there another world where we are all the opposite gender trying to contact us!"

"Excuse me, Miss Pierce?" Dumbledore said.

She froze and then spun around to face him.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked, with his eyes twinkling.

"Because it confuses people?"

He looked around the room.

"Ah," he said, "I see you have met our Miss Howell. But sadly, introductions must end here; I need you two," he pointed to Lily and Ally, "In my office."

He went back through the open door.

"Nice meeting you." Lily said kindly.

"Yeah, just don't eat anymore vegetables." Ally added.

Ally and Lily walked through the door into the Headmasters office. The walls were decorated with the previous Headmaster's of Hogwarts; the portraits stared down at them as they walked by. Oddities decorated shelves and tables around the room. Lily was stuck to looking around her and Ally had to pull her along as she got stuck staring at things.

"Please," he motioned to two seats in front of a large oak desk, "Sit."

He himself took the large seat behind the desk and folded his hands.

"First, it has come to my attention that you both have merited an invitation to a ball. And secondly, Poppy Pomfrey has alerted me that last month you two visited a very furry little friend of mine." He smiled down at them through his half moon spectacles.

"Which topic would you like to address first?"

"Er—"

"Well—"

"Professor," Ally said, "Wouldn't you like to decide? I'm sure you don't get many students asking _you_ for things."

"I think I'll leave this to you, but tomorrow it would delight me if you would ask me a question." He said.

"Right," Lily said. "Let's talk about the hospital visit first. Get it over with."

Dumbledore looked at her and Ally.

"I assume you both know why this issue is very important to everyone. Not only Remus, but his parents, the professors and I." He continued, getting up to pace the room. "It is also extremely important that Remus and I know you will not _reveal_ to anyone what you found out. The other students are not as forgiving as you two, they are prone to name calling and prejudice. Not only that, but I'm positive their parents would make sure Remus is less than welcome at Hogwarts. Now... I assume Remus knows you two are aware of his condition?"

"Yes, Professor," Lily said.

"And how did he take it?'

"He first thought we would think of him as a freak." Lily replied.

"Stupid git." Ally said.

"Ally!" Lily exclaimed.

"Well he _was _being a git! He thought we would think of him differently, and all this time I thought he was _smarter_ then most of the class."

"So you have no intention of alerting anyone of his condition?"

"Nope." Ally said.

"No, Professor." Lily said.

"Good. And you have no intention of treating him as an inferior, spreading a bad rumor, or hinting others toward what he is?"

"Not a chance!" Ally said.

"No, Professor." Lily said.

"Good, good." He stroked his beard in thought. "Now, what was our other subject of discussion?"

"The invitation." Lily replied.

"Oh, yes." He seated himself behind his desk again.

"Your Uncle," he pointed at Ally, "Has arranged transportation from Hogwarts to the upstairs of Bonham hall."

"How?"

"You will take floo powder from Professor McGonagall, your Head of House, and use the fireplace in her office." He drew out a letter from his desk and handed it to Ally. "After you wrote to your Uncle he sent me a letter to arrange you arrival, he also included this for your eyes. You can read it later." Ally placed the letter in her robe pocket. "Since I'm the most informed on the latest gossip, it has come to my attention that you have not publicized the fact that you are going to the ball."

His eyes twinkle for a moment before he continued.

"That was a wise decision on your part. Although, I'm afraid Mr. Potter will be in for a rather nasty surprise."

"Some things must be sacrificed." Lily said cryptically.

"Yes... Some things. Well, I'm afraid I've kept you from your classes for far too long. Your teachers will be displeased with me."

He stood up and ushered them out of the office kindly.

"I believe you have your Potions class right now, send my apologies to Professor Slughorn for keeping you, and make sure you get your Charms homework."

They walked out into the hallway.

"Mr. and Miss. Howell, I will see you now. But please permit me to tidy up my office, if you would also bring that tattered old hat on the shelf with you." He eyes twinkled and he turned and went back into his office.

"You guys are going to be sorted?" Lily asked when the door had shut.

"Yeah, what do we have to do?" Samantha asked curiously.

"It's a secret," Ally said, "We aren't allowed to say."

"Shame," she replied as she picked up the old hat from the shelf.

"Would you mind if I see that for a minute?" Ally requested.

"Sure," Samantha handed her the hat.

Ally placed it on her head and a voice near her ear whispered.

_What is it now Miss Piece? Have you come to argue more about your house placement? I told you a thousand times when I sorted you I would not put you in Hufflepuff because your favorite color is yellow._

_Actually, _Ally replied,_ I was wondering if you have had any recent contact with your brother._

_ My brother? _The hat said, _No, I haven't seen him since we were made._

_Oh, because I recently bought him at Zonkos._

She smirked at the baffled hat and pulled him off her head.

"I believe I won that round," She whispered to Lily.

The door opened and Professor Dumbledore guided Samantha and her brother into his office. He stood in the doorway smiling.

"What?" Ally asked, and she tugged Lily's arm. They descended the stone stairs and entered the lower hallway.

Dumbledore's POV

Dumbledore smiled as he watched their retreating backs.

_I wonder if she really will ask me a question... _ He thought and closed the door.

The Next Day, Dinner Time...

The great hall was crowded and students were talking loudly over each other. Lily and Ally were sitting in the middle of the table next to the 'marauders'. It had gotten to be habit for Ally to sit in between Sirius and Lily. Lily had turned around and was talking to some Hufflpuffs while Ally talked to Sirius.

"What happened that Dumbledore needed to talk to you about?" he asked.

"Er—" Ally said.

Lily turned around and the Hufflepuff she was talking to left.

"We were asked to take care of some Hogwarts business." she said.

"Yeah," Ally agreed, "Top secret Sirius, I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "Why would Dumbledore trust you?"

"You'd be surprised," Ally said superiorly, "Dumbledore and I happen to be very good friends."

"Oh, really?" Sirius said, and the rest of the 'marauders' picked up on their conversation.

"Would you like to prove it?" James challenged.

"Absolutely!" Ally said.

"She would be _delighted_." Lily added, trying to give Ally a hint. For the first time in forever, Ally picked up on it.

Ally stood and flipped back her hair. She marched up to the teachers table. Lily's and the marauder's eyes were on her as she walked up to Dumbledore. She approached the head of the table and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, Professor?" she said.

Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and smiled at her with the same twinkle in his eyes that he had yesterday.

"Yeeeees..." he said.

"Yesterday, you said that you would be delighted if I would ask you a question tomorrow."

"And?" he said, his smile growing.

"Today is tomorrow." she said simply.

"What is your question?"

"Could I kiss you on the cheek?"

"Why...Certainly." he said.

She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. When she turned around she smirked superiorly at the marauders, who were looking at her astounded.

"Come Lily," she said as she passed them by, "They obviously don't respect how close I am to Dumbledore."

Lily huffed and followed Ally out of the Hall.

As soon as they were outside of the hall, the doors closed behind them and they burst out laughing.

"D-did you see their faces!" Lily said.

"That was sooooooo funny!" Ally giggled.

"Come on, let's go open your Uncle's letter." Lily said, still laughing.

"Yeah." Ally replied and started to race Lily to the Common room.

They ran up the castle, their laughter echoing off the old stone walls.


	9. Chapter 9 Bonham Hall

**(A/N I don't know who Ludo Bagman's father was... go with it.)**

Chapter Nine Halloween

_My Dearest Niece,_

_Your letter reached me the day you sent it, but I'm afraid I have been swamped with work and have been toiling over plans._

_I have arranged for you to pick up your dresses at Hogsmeade._

"At least we don't have to suffer Pria," Ally said.

"Keep reading."

_You will contact Madam Winchcombe. ._

_Sorry this letter is so short,_

_Uncle David_

Ally read it out loud to Lily in the common room. The other Gryffindors were still down in the great hall, stuffing their faces. No one had come up while she had been reading the letter. Lily took it out of Ally's hands and skimmed it over. She flipped it over to look at the back but there was nothing on it.

"That was... short."

Ally sighed.

"There's no hidden information, if _that's_ what you're thinking. He's busy and didn't have time for a full letter. It happens all the time." She shrugged.

"He said to go to Hogsmeade." Lily said.

"Yeah, we have a Hogsmeade trip again don't we?'

"On Halloween, isn't that kind of close?"

"No, I'm sure it'll be fine," Ally kicked her feet up onto the armrest of the chair she was sitting in; "We'll just pick them up and go."

"Won't we have to be fitted?"

Ally sighed.

"Do you not understand the concept of magic?" her wand shot sparkles out, "Oooooh magic!"

"Very funny," Lily said sarcastically then continued, "Contact Madam Winchcombe."

"Who again?" Ally looked puzzled.

"She's the pretty woman who works at the Three Broomsticks."

"Oh yeah, I remember her." She laughed, "All the boys were drooling, especially that Ravenclaw boy, who tripped over a chair while he was ordering."

October 31st

Not much had happened in the time between the meeting with Dumbledore and the day of the Ball. Lily was being constantly harassed by James, who seemed determined to get Lily as his date. She just shrugged off his attempts to court her, until one day in Charms. He had sent her numerous notes asking her to go out with him. Just when Lily thought he had given up, he levitated an origami heart that said 'Lily, go with me to the ball', the rest of the class went a little fuzzy for Lily and all Ally remembered was a giant red, angry blur. One Slytherin swore that he saw Lily cast the 'Avada Kedavra' curse at James.

All in all, their classes were uneventful. Remus looked a bit ill for a while, and then came back after a three day disappearance, looking much healthier. Ally was a bit relieved that Remus no longer had to lie to him, and while he was gone, she picked up all his homework. Lily and she also visited him in the hospital wing, Ally made sure to bring plenty of sweets, Lily brought books.

It was the day of the Hogsmeade trip and the ball. Pria and Ally were in Zonkos, while Lily and Carla were visiting the bookstore.

_They're such bookworms... _Ally thought, when they had split up.

"They are such bookworms." Pria had said.

"You know," Ally said turning to her, "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Don't forget to visit Winchcombe!" Ally shouted after Lily.

"You should be reminding yourself that!" She said and they vanished into the crowd.

The Zonkos joke store was full of odds and ends. The shelves went so high up that they seemed to fade into the ceiling, well, it was the wizarding world, and they probably did. Zonkos wasn't really a store for people who were looking for something specific. It was more a store for the person who recently lost something in a rift tide on full moon, who can't remember exactly what it looked like, except that it was purple and it whirred. Zonkos had that.

Ally brushed her hand across the counter as she walked by it. The man normally seen behind the counter was absent at the time. She stopped to look out the window and saw very familiar figures approaching the shop. Pria followed her gaze and smiled.

"Marauders." She said and then pulled Ally to the back corner of the shop. They slipped into a storage closet. The bell on the door rang as the four of them marched in. She could barely see them through the small crack between the door and the wall.

_What, do they think they own the place?_ She remarked in her mind. Peter scurried off to look at some enchanted muggle toys. Sirius and James walked up to the front desk, while Remus lingered in the back, behind a shelf, obviously not wanting to be seen in the joke shop by any of the professors.

James rang the bell obnoxiously. He waited for a moment and looked around.

"Where is he?"

"Let me try!" Sirius pushed him over and then rang the bell repeatedly until the owner peeked his head around the corner. He had been in the back room of Zonkos, the place where Ally had found her talking hat.

"Ah," he said, looking them up and down, "Do you solemnly swear you have been up to no good?"

"Mischief managed, sir!" Sirius saluted the manager.

"Well." he shut the door. Some small clatter in the back of the shop could be heard, and then a small 'Boom!' erupted. The door flung open and the manager walked through purple smoke to the back of the counter. He pulled out his wand and shut the door again with a flick of his wand.

"What can I do you for Mr. Potter," he nodded and then turned to Sirius, "Mr. Black?"

James looked around the shop closely, to see if anyone was listening. Ally involuntarily tensed as his eyes moved across their hiding place. His gaze passed right over, though, oblivious to their presence. Then he leaned forward. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out an envelope. Ally immediately recognized it.

"That's the invitation to my Uncle's ball." She whispered.

Pria nodded, and then they both turned their attention back to the conversation unfolding before them.

"Know anything about this?" James inquired.

The manager took the letter and opened it. He widened his eyes and glanced at James before he returned it to him.

"What are you planning?" he asked curiously and yet cautiously, "Did you have anything in mind?"

"We need information first." Sirius interrupted, "There's nothing we can plan quite yet, without knowing how it's going to go down."

"Hmm," The manager looked out into space in thought and the shop lapsed into silence. The only noise was from Peter accidentally knocking over a singing toad. The toad looked around from its position on the floor, and then burst out in a rousing rendition of 'Do the Hustle," complete with background singing from the other toads on the shelf

The manager opened the first drawer on his right and shuffled through some papers.

"I don't normally do this," He eyed them as he drew out a piece of paper, "but I think I'll make an exception in your case."

Sirius and James looked at each other happily. _What are they so happy about..? I got a talking hat!_

"Thank you ,sir," James said.

The manager replied by sliding the piece of paper across the desk, toward them.

"You can't leave the shop with that."

"Yessir." They replied and quickly absorbed the information on the paper. James and Sirius were muttering to themselves. Pria tapped Ally on the shoulder.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Pria whispered.

"Why?" Ally asked.

"They're going to prank you at Uncle's party!"

"It's a charity ball, not a party."

"So what! They're still going to wreck it!"

"What can I do?" Ally held her hands in defeat, "I haven't got a clue how to stop them!"

"Get a clue!"

"Er—do you have any idea how hard that is for me?" She whispered back.

They turned their attention back to the two mischief makers and the manager. James was leaning in very close and whispering to the older man. The manager nodded then drew back to the large storeroom. He returned a few seconds later with a small box.

"Be very careful," he said, just loudly enough for Ally and Pria to hear in the back, "It would be bad to spill this stuff."

They nodded vigorously and then dragged Remus and Peter back into the street.

Ally and Pria emerged from the closet carefully, looking around to make sure all of them were gone.

"Ah," the manager said, "How is your hat, Miss Pierce?"

"Er—" She looked at Pria and they backed out of the shop, "Rather down I'm afraid, I recently lent him to a small second year with lice... bad memories."

They ran out of the shop and stopped running when they reached the corner of the street.

"Have you gotten a clue yet?" Pria asked.

"No," She spotted the Three Broomsticks across the street.

"Hold on," she left Pria on the street and ran over to the shop. Luckily, Ally closed the door behind her before she heard Pria scream in frustration.

"Stupid Al!"

Ally took of her scarf and coat; she draped them over her arm and looked around the room. There were several other Hogwarts students there, including Lily. Ally glanced at Carla talking to Lily, and waved.

Lily POV

Lily had been talking to Carla about their last class of DADA, when she saw Ally wave to her. _She must be here to see Madam Winchcombe._ She waved back and then pointed to behind the counter. Winchcombe was there, cleaning out some cups, behind the counter. Ally gave her the thumbs up and smiled. Then she saw Ally walk up to the counter.

A brief exchange occurred, then, Ally was escorted by Winchcombe to the back room. Lily looked down on the floor at a long box that held her dress. Then she looked up at the door as it ringed, admitting Pria from the streets.

Pria strode over to where they were seated and plopped down in the chair next to Lily. She looked utterly annoyed at something. _Probably something Al did._

"Lil—you won't believe what Ally and I just witnessed..."

Ally POV

Ally sat down on an arm chair, waiting for Winchcombe to come back with her parcel. The small room in the back had a small couch, table, and arm chair. The floor had a large ornate rug laid out on it and the walls were made of light wood.

Ally's mind wondered over her previous encounter at Zonkos, well, it wasn't really an encounter. She didn't have any idea how to stop Potter ruining her uncle's ball. Her mind was fuzzy just trying to think of anything. _I can't ask my uncle to uninvite the Potter's, which would be unfair to James' father, who hasn't really done anything... and my Uncle would want to know why._ _And I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings... Come on, Ally, think... wait! Thinking! That's it!_

Ally jumped up and reached into her robe pocket, sure enough, she pulled out a flattened hat. _This hat has to have something to help me! _With a pop the hat righted itself an she placed it on her head.

_Listen—_

_No, no, _the hat said before she could say anything. _I can read thoughts you know... Ah, you are in a predicament. Mr. Potter's mischief may prove to destroy your Uncle's ball. Keep me on, I may need to think this one over for a while before I get back to you._

_Got it._

Madam Winchcombe returned and looked at her oddly.

"What kind of hat is that?"

"Er—a good one?" Ally replied.

Winchcombe rolled her eyes and shoved a thin rectangle box toward her.

"Take this, your Uncle sent it to me, he said to tell you to he was expecting you to wear it. But don't wear it when your traveling by floo powder, change at the hall, or else you'll get ashes all over it."

Ally took the box, not bothering to open it she told Winchcombe thanks and reentered the main pub room; she spotted Pria sitting with Lily and Carla.

_Must be telling her what happened._

_I agree..._

Ally jumped and then looked up, she had forgotten the hat was still on. She walked over to their table after ordering a round of butter beers for her friends, and then she took a seat in between Carla and Pria.

"—then she left me on the street in this cold weather!" Pria finished saying.

"Sorry about that," Ally sat as she sat down, "I ordered us all butter beers to make up for it."

"Well, I guess that's decent compensation." Pria said. "Why are you wearing that hat?"

"It helps me think."

_You mean I think for you..._

"No, you don't!" Ally said.

Her friends exchanged glances.

"Er—right, of course you don't." Pria said.

_You aren't all that bright are you?_ The hat said.

"Nothing, nothing guys."

The bell on the door rang again. Lily, Pria, Carla and Ally turned their heads to the doorway to see who was entering.

"No.Way." Pria said.

"Welcome to my life." Ally groaned and slammed her head down on the table.

"I can't believe the coincidence!" Lily said.

Carla didn't say anything, but watched all four marauders sit in the corner of the pub. Madam Winchcombe came over to their table and took their orders.

_Aha! I've got it!_

"Aha!" Ally said to her friends who turned to look at her. "I've got it!"

_Look over at his feet; he put the package on the ground!_

"Look over at his feet; he put the package on the ground."

"So?" Lily said.

_He can't see it! It can easily be replaced!_

"He can't see it, it can easily be replaced."

"Replaced... by what?" Lily asked.

Pria smirked, and then pulled out a package labeled 'Filibuster's new Fireworks!'

"I think I have just the thing..." she laughed evilly.

"Don't do that."

"Right."

Ten minutes later...

James and his 'Marauders' exited the Three Broomsticks. They were all laughing about something and started to walk down the main street.

"Five... four... three... two... one..."

The streets exploded in colors and lights. Potter was taken completely off guard, when the small box he was holding blew up. Blasts, bangs, booms and thunderous noises emitted from the box. The fireworks whirled and whizzed off in thousands of directions. Flying saucers and rockets lit up the street. Wheels of color and light spun round and round, causing people to have to duck and dodge.

"Go, Carla!" Lily shouted from their hiding place in the alley.

Carla ran up the opposite end of the street. She arrived at the scene when the fireworks died down to a faint 'zzzzzeeeeeeeeeee'. Trailing behind her was professor McGonagall. Her mouth was hanging open in shock when Carla showed her the scene.

"It's just like I said, Professor, Lily, Pria, Ally, and I were all in the Three Broomsticks when we heard Potter and his friends talking about this great prank they had planned for today's Hogsmeade trip." She paused and looked at them, Ally gave her the thumbs up and she continued. "We went immediately to get you, but the fireworks already went off. We ducked down the alley for our safety, and when they died down a little, I went to go get you."

"Thank you, Carla." Professor McGonagall said. Her face set with grim determination now. "I shall inform the Headmaster of you and your friends' good intentions. For now, return to the castle with them."

Carla ran over to where her friends were hiding in the alley.

"Let's get out of here before we get caught."

Ally and her friend all ran down the streets. A huge crowd had gathered in the streets to look over the scene. Barely anyone noticed the four girls, laughing their heads off, duck through the crowd and enter one of the carriages. The carriage set out with al four giggling girls in it.

"That was terrible!" Carla said, "Don't ever make me do that again."

"You were so good though!" Lily exclaimed, "Professor McGonagall believed every single word you said. Did you see her face, she looked so peeved!"

"She's going to murder them!" Pria laughed, "And they deserve it for trying to ruin the ball."

Ally smiled at her friends as they reminisced over what had just happened.

_Thanks for that hat. I owe you one._

_Aw, stop, you're making me blush! Wait... I can't blush... Aw, snap._

Ally giggled to her self and dragged the hat off her head. Then flattening it out, she stuffed the hat into the box that held her dress, without even bothering to look at the dress inside.

One hour later...

Ally and Lily ran down the hall. They were five minutes late of when Professor McGonagall had told them to be in her office to floo to the hall. Lily and Ally both clutched their rectangle boxes that held their boxes as they sprinted around another corner.

The Halloween feast had been a blast. Ghosts had flown in and out of the hall constantly. Instead of the usual candles floating around the hall, carved jack-o-lanterns spun around the student's heads. Bats and spiders hung down from the ceiling.

Professor McGonagall had given them a note, telling when to be in her office. James and Potter had also been given one, but they hadn't noticed that Lily and Ally had received the same note.

"At least this way," Ally panted as they rounded another corner, "We won't have to explain to Potter and Black why we're there!"

"That is a plus!" Lily said back.

The door to Professor McGonagall's office banged open and Ally and Lily stood there puffing for breath.

"Sorry, Professor!" Lily gasped. "The clock in our room is always a little quirky!"

Professor McGonagall sighed and took a bowl from her desk into her hands.

"I'll let it slip," she said, "You were the ones who alerted me today about that incident of Hogsmeade..." she paused, "Potter and Black have already left for Bonham."

She motioned to the fireplace next to her. Ally and Lily stepped up to the edge of the rug.

"Floo powder is really quiet simple." She said, "All you have to do is take a small pinch of powder," She handed them the bowl and they each took a small sample. "Then when you step into the flames, you speak clearly and slowly the place that is your destination and throw the powder down into the flames."

She pointed at Lily who moved forward. She stepped into the fireplace slowly.

"Don't worry," Professor McGonagall said at her hesitation, "The flames won't harm you at all, now... your destination."

"Upstairs, Bonham hall." she shouted and disappeared as green flames encircled her.

"I trust that, since you came from a wizarding family, I don't have to explain floo traveling to you?" Professor McGonagall said to Ally.

"No, Professor." She stepped into the flames.

"Upstairs, Bonham Hall." Ally said and, like Lily, vanished in the flames.

Bonham Hall...

Ally slid out of the fireplace coughing. _I hate floo powder... Can't wait to be able to apparate... _ She thought before she was pulled out of her sitting position.

"Aunt Beatrice!" she shouted joyfully.

"Al!" she said, "You look gorgeous!"

Ally looked down at herself. She was in her jeans and t-shirt, covered in ash.

"Are _you_ feeling okay?" She replied.

Her aunt only laughed and began pushing her through to another room. The upstairs of Bonham hall wasn't really an upstairs. It really was a really big room, filled with clothing lines and banners that hung down, somewhat dividing the hall into rooms.

"We've already sent your friend to get dressed. You two have to look especially good. yYu'll be presented first—"

"Say _what_?" Ally snapped.

"You'll be presented first. You know... walk down the hall stairs before anyone else. You'll be announced with your uncle, my husband, and he will be escorting you down the stairs, that's why he special ordered your dress? Didn't he tell you this?"

"... **_No._**" Ally retorted.

"Oh," her aunt said, "Well..." she brushed her hair out of the way nervously, "Now you know."

Beatrice pushed back a curtain and they entered another room, filled with random objects, like a pensieve and a wardrobe with a boggart in it.

"Not to mention, Matthew will be escorting Lily---

"**_Geh—di—abba—wibba—wha---can she—how—er?_**" Ally blabbered.

"You do remember your cousin Matthew, don't you?"

"**_Yeeeees_**." Ally replied.

'Well, your mother said you had a new friend, Matthew needed someone to escort... it all seemed to work out...!" her aunt said cheerfully.

Ally loved her mum and her aunt and uncle and cousin...but she couldn't help thinking, '**_Their going to die!' _**while she was putting on her dress. She jerked into the fabric angrily and watched her hair being done in the mirror thinking murderous thoughts.

_Oh, their going to get it... I cannot believe this... horrid...evil...scandalous family! I'll disown them! You'll see! You thought Grindelwald was bad... Just wait until they face the fury of Al! Okay... I need a better name... Give me a minute, I'll think of one._

She slapped on her heels and stormed out of the changing room—er—curtains—and opened her mouth to give a piece of her mind to her aunt, mother, cousin, and uncle, who were all sitting, waiting for her.

"See! Didn't I tell you she looks gorgeous!" her aunt exclaimed

"Beautiful!" her uncle cried out.

"My baby girl!" her mother sobbed.

"You look weird, Al." her cousin said.

So, there she was, in her white, sparkly, flowy, diamond dress, with her closest family, complimenting her to no end. Her mouth was hanging open, trying to form words. After all that practice in her mind, envisioning her self shouting at her family that she wanted to leave them forever, all that she could come up with was...

"Er—thanks Matt."

"For calling you weird?" he grinned, showing a set of perfect white teeth, "No problem!"

"Lily already came out a few minutes ago, she's such a nice girl!" her mother said, "Matthew and her hit it off right away."

"Auntie!" he shouted, blushing.

"Well, it's true," she smiled at her nephews awkwardness, "Anyway, Al, (I love you new name by the way,) she went to sneak a peek at the audience, said she was looking for Prongs."

"Oh," Ally said, "I better join her then."

She ran through the room, pushing back curtains and weaving around desks and strange objects. She came to where Lily was looking out. It was a sort of balcony, except the audience that had gathered couldn't see them, everyone who looked up would only see a large painting on the wall. Lily and Ally could see the audience though.

Bonham hall was decorated to the theme, black and white. There were orbs of light floating around, lighting up the room spectacularly. Banners with the symbol for St. Mungo's hospital reached from the top of the ceiling to the floor. There entire hall was made of white marble. Ornate pillars held up the hall on both sides. On one end was a large ceiling dome, and the other side had a large staircase with a white rug laid out. Beneath the dome was the dance floor, where the ball would officially begin. The floor was polished marble, which sparkle whenever light hit it at the right angle. An orchestra was positioned in one of the corners.

Lily pointed to the staircase.

"Is that where we're coming down?"

"Yeah, they'll announce our names. First they'll say my uncle's name and then they'll say 'escorting' and then they'll say my name."

'That didn't make a lot of sense."

Ally giggled. Lily knew she wasn't as gifted in words. She also sensed that Lily was nervous for some reason. That was unusual. Lily was great at everything, and so she was confident. There was rarely a moment when Lily would falter, or make a mistake.

"What's wrong?"

"I've never been in front of this many people..."

"Oh, you'll do fine!" Ally said, "Trust me, if I can do this, you can. We did this all the time in France! All you have to do is imagine everyone else—"

"In their underwear? I've heard that one before." Lily replied hopelessly, "it doesn't help me any."

"Actually I was going to say to imagine them gossiping about how I tripped down the stairs and rammed right into the entire Malfoy family. Then, about how I spilt punch all over myself, got drunk, danced the chicken dance, and was expelled from Hogwarts for radical behavior."

Lily laughed and Ally got a chance to see what she was wearing.

"Your dress looks exactly like mine!"

"No it doesn't! Your's is in white and mine is in black!" Lily said. "Are you colorblind now?"

"Er—" Ally whistled.

Lily laughed and pointed at the bottom of the hall's stairs.

"Look at Potter and Black! In suits!" she handed Ally some binoculars she had found earlier.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the stairs, she recognized her two fellow Hogwarts peers, joking like they were still in school. Next to them she saw James' parents. His father looked a heck of a lot like him and his mother looked very elegant in her sheath black dress. The rest of the crowd had gathered around the bottom of the stairs waiting for the ball to start.

"They look funny in suits."

"You mean ridiculous," Lily scoffed.

"Come on," she pulled out her wand and observed the time, "I think your aunt wants us to wait behind the stairs right entrance.

Seventeen point five eight seconds later...

"Girls!" Ally's aunt said as they approached. "Good, good."

She pulled Ally in front of Lily. There was already a line of other women, some Ally recognized as the people who worked for her Uncle. _They must be announcing all the executives._

"Mr. Bagman," her aunt pushed the door open a crack and pointed to a pudgy man, guffawing at a joke the man next to him just said. "Will announce you, after the proper introductions, you will walk to the center of the top of the stairs, and then you will take the arm of whoever is escorting you. The men will enter the other side before you and will be waiting."

She pointed to the left entrance to the stairs.

"That's where the men will enter before you. And for goodness sake Al!" her aunt said. "Don't run down the stairs like you did last time."

Ally giggled.

"Fine! I will take my sweet time this ball, one step... oh...every... hour!"

Lily laughed as Ally's aunt rolled her eyes.

"Don't you dare." she said dangerously, but the affect was ruined by her smile. "You both look lovely."

"Thank you, Mrs. Pierce."

"I'll get you for that."

They didn't get to continue their conversation, as the orchestra struck up a tune and Mr. Bagman stepped in front of the crowd. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his throat. Suddenly, his voice boomed.

"**Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for attending St Mungo's annual Charity ball. Any donation you make today will be directly forwarded to the department of magical injuries."**

There was some brief polite applause.

**"It is my pleasure to tell you that the clock has struck eight o' clock, and the ball has begun."**

More applause greeted this news.

"Gee, they clap at everything don't they?" Ally muttered.

"**We will begin by announcing the owner of St Mungo's, winner of Witch Weekly's Most Successful Business Man, and a proud member of the Order of Merlin. David Pierce!"**

The crowd burst out into applause. Ally's uncle appeared on the left entrance and proudly walked to the center of the platform at the top of the stairs.

**"And I'm sure you've either heard it yourself, or heard it from another person. Mr. Pierce brags to no end about his lovely niece.'**

The crowd laughed lightly and Bagman continued.

**"Now, we finally have the pleasure of meeting her. Mr. Pierce will be escorting his niece tonight. Ally Pierce!"**

Ally slowly entered the hall; she glided down to the platform and took her uncle's arm. Everyone's eyes were on them as they moved down the stairs. She smiled kindly as she passed the Potter's and Sirius. Both James and Sirius had attractively dropped their jaws. _Attractive to flies that is..._

Her Uncle led her onto the dance floor and spun her around once. The edges of her dress twirled up a little as she spun and she looked faintly like a disco ball the way she sparkled.

"**Next up," **Bagman continued after the applause died down, "**We have Matthew Pierce, the heir to the Pierce fortune, and fresh out of Beauxbatons School with a remarkable twelve NEWTS." **

The audience applauded again, it could be said that the girls were applauding rather vigorously as her cousin stepped onto the platform.

**'He will be escorting a very close friend of the Pierce family from our very own Hogwarts. Lily Evans!"**

Lily slid down the stairs gracefully. She took Matthews arm and they descended down the stairs and made their way to a position on the floor next to Ally and her Uncle. Matthew spun Lily once, and she glittered and shone like a black star.

The announcements continued for a long while mainly consisting of her Uncle's board and their husbands or wives.

When they had finished and all the pairs were out on the dance floor. The audience moved to encircle the dancers.

Ally looked over at Lily who glanced at Ally at the same time.

They smiled and the orchestra began the dance.

Ally spun and twirled in time with the beat. Her uncle was a good dancer. The thing about this dance was that after a certain number of beats, your supposed to spin the girl you dancing with over to the next person.

After the fourth measure, Ally was spun to her cousin, Matthew.

Eighth measure, Mr. Jorkins...

Twelfth measure, Mr. Collins...

Sixteenth measure, Mr. Malfoy...

Twenty-second measure, Mr. Potter...

Twenty-sixth measure, James...

Thirtieth measure, Sirius... A loud bang and screaming, people running for their lives...A glimpse of the top of a tall black mask... A green light... _What happened_? She thought before Sirius grabbed her hand and forced her to run...


	10. Chapter 10 That Settles That

**ViloletsxArexBlue, greenday and hp, futurePOTUS, And So The Wolf Howls, and Rylie D... for leaving reviews. Thanks so much!**

Chapter Ten "That Settles That."

Ally was running, she didn't know where to, but she was running.

There were dozens of doors on either side of them as she flew down the hall; Sirius was in front of her. There were noises and sounds of things detonating. They were running too fast for here to really comprehend anything. Some blasts went off next to them, and Ally could here someone screaming before she was pulled to her feet again by Sirius and compelled to run.

Her legs were screaming for oxygen when they started to slow down. The noises were fading away as they ran out of the halls connected to Bonham.

Soon they were running through the halls of the University that Bonham hall was connected to. It was the school healers went to, to get certified, after they left their wizarding school. She knew they were in the University; she had been there before, with her uncle. He had shown it to her in hopes that she would become a healer on day.

The walls weren't nearly as ornate as the Bonham walls; they were an off white color, very hospital-esque, with numerous painting and plaques hung up. The plaques were mainly awards students or teacher's had won. No one was there though; it was too late at night for anyone to be there.

The paintings stared down at them as they entered a large circular room, probably a lecture room. There was a large table that ran from wall to wall. Neither of the two students said anything as they jumped over the table and ducked. They heard a shuffling near the door and Sirius pulled Ally down to the floor. They crouched as low to the ground as possible before the door flung open.

Breathing suddenly became very important to Ally. She focused solely on _not _passing out as whoever it was stepped into the room. Whoever they were they seemed to be walking very fast. Sirius nudged her shoulder and she looked over at him. He held up two fingers for her to see. Then he held up one finger and pointed to her. _I get one, got it. _He held up another finger and pointed to himself. _You get the other._

She nodded in understanding and pulled her wand from the bun in her hair. _I always knew it was a good idea to use your wand as fake Chinese chopsticks._ She looked over at Sirius and he nodded. She held up three fingers. _Three... two... one._

"Exspelliarmus!"

"Confundo!"

Their spells shot out of their wands and intertwined. As soon as they reached the attacker the spells split apart again and hit them both. Ally looked down to where they were standing, wandless and disoriented, in the middle of the room.

It was the Malfoys. It was unclear which one was which; they were wearing a dumb expression on their faces that would have been humorous if they weren't in their situation. She looked at Sirius who motioned for her to follow. She cautiously and slowly went after him, her legs still hurting from their previous run. He stood in front of the taller Malfoy and pointed his wand at his chest. The Malfoy looked down at the wand, still confounded from Ally's charm.

"Stupefy." Sirius said calmly. A red light left his wand and hit Malfoy, who fell to the ground, stunned. She looked at the other, presumed, younger Malfoy and did the same; he also fell to the floor with a 'thunk'.

They would have returned to their hiding spot, but heard noise beyond the door they came from. Sirius and her ran to the other side of the room and entered another room identical to the last one.

She shut the door behind her carefully, having seen _way _too many muggle horror movies where the attacker followed open doors. They ran out of that room and into another larger room. She shut the door behind her again. This room looked like a small library; on one end was a large aquarium, filled with bizarre fish and other weird sea creatures. Sirius led her to a shelf and they hid from whoever was following them.

One minute passed... then five... then ten. They were still waiting tensely for someone to open the door. Fifteen minutes in, Sirius spoke.

"I think they're gone..."

A huge weight that was on her shoulders suddenly lifted and she slumped to the floor in exhaustion. Breathing a sigh of relief she pulled Sirius down next to her.

"We should stay here," she said softly, "There are millions of rooms in the University. The chances that anyone will search this one are slim to none."

He relaxed and turned to look at her.

"This is a university?"

"Bonham is connected to the University that certifies healers..." she said, "My Uncle showed me once..."

"He's nice."

"I know..." she sighed. "My legs hurt... I should've played Quidditch."

"Yeah..." he replied. "You should've. We could use you on the team."

_Okay... We have just been attacked and we're talking about Quidditch... In a library... hiding from who knows what... _

"You need a chaser?"

"Not yet... maybe later in the year..." Suddenly his face hardened. "This is exactly as I thought it would turn out... you know."

"What? Hiding in a library?"

He looked at her, and then turned to face the aquarium.

"I want to be an auror."

The weird, Phillips head shaped fish stared back at them, then swum away to hide behind a bubble machine.

"Why? That's not really a dream profession. Dangerous really... and I heard you have to have top marks in nearly everything." She was looking at the fish tank too now. A little baby grindylow appeared and started to make funny faces at them. At first it had tried to attack them. But when it charged, it rammed into that glass wall and after several failed attempts, it had settled on the funny faces.

Sirius had been silent a while, thinking over his response.

"I already have top marks... School has never been a real problem for me."

"Gee, it's nice to know _someone _got off easy."

He smiled and then continued.

"Did you know I spent the last summer at the Potter house...?"

"Why? Do they have a pool? Don't be ashamed to say it..."

He smile grew a little and then faded into a frown. The only noise in the room was the bubbles of the fish tank.

"No... After I was sorted into Gryffindor... before that... I started to see my family for what they really were. Horrible people, swept up into pureblood mania. My mother and father were the worst of them. My cousin Andromeda wasn't all that bad; she was one of the few people who could stand me in the house. She was real nice... even after..."

"What?" Ally urged him on. This was possibly the only time she'd get him talking about his family and wanted to take advantage of the situation. Not the situation that they were hiding from attackers, but the situation where they were alone and he was talking.

"Well, I got a letter recently; it seems my mum finally had enough. She blew my name of the family tree. I am no longer an official Black." he spat the words out bitterly, "I'm not even really broken up about it. People thought that I would be, Dumbledore and that lot. I'm angry, not sad, I always hated them, and they were convinced that being a Black made you royal in some way. The only thing that made me feel bad was that I had to leave Andromeda there with _them_."

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I know... my brother's the real problem, maybe you've seen him around school. He's in Slytherin, like the rest of my crazy relatives. Mum loved to tell me about how much better of a son he was. He was brainwashed from day one, just like the rest of them... pulled in by the riches. I hear he's joined this new dark wizard, calls himself Voldemort. He's probably the one who attacked the ball tonight..."

"Really... There's a new dark wizard?"

"Yeah, chances are he'll be just another hack. My whole families behind him, you know, all about purifying the wizard race. Getting rid of the muggleborns, anyone that's anything less than pureblood is in danger. Of course, my _saintly_ brother joined up right away. The people who follow _Voldemort_ are called Death Eaters... their marked with a tattoo. My brother was showing it off this summer, before I left. "

"What does it look like?" she asked.

"It's a skull—"

"I think Pirates already stole that one."

"Let me finish. It's a skull, with a green snake coming out its mouth."

"Creepy. I guess they know how to decorate to a theme."

He barked a laugh.

"You should see my old house. It's all dark and filthy; don't know why we kept that stupid house elf. Can't clean a thing! That house is full of old dark magic and evil curses. Just walking into it can send a shiver down you spine."

"Your family can't be that bad! They must really have worked hard to get that sort of malevolence into a building!"

He smiled and turned to her.

"Your okay, Al"

"Okay? Look at me! I'm gorgeous...! At least that's what I've been told."

She stood up; her dress wasn't nearly as great as it had been at the ball. It was torn at the side from running so much, and some of the diamonds had fallen off. Her hair was completely ruined. She had also lost one of her shoes while running. So she stood, slightly lopsided, with her hands on her hips, and flipped her hair back. He laughed at her little display.

"You look beautiful."

"Aw..." she bent down and ruffled his hair, "Thanks!"

"Not the hair!" he shouted.

"Don't worry," she reassured, "it was already messed up pretty bad."

"Aw well."

She sat back down next to him and transformed her wand into a comb.

"How'd you do that?"

"Lil taught me, nifty isn't it?"

He took the comb and fixed his hair. Then turned and handed it back to her. She ran it through her hair, untangling the knots that had formed. While she was doing this they were talking.

"So, what's our plan?" She said.

"Get to Hogwarts. That's obvious," he said, "The only thing is there are 'Death Eaters' all over the place, waiting to blast us away, you said you've been here before. Can you tell me anything about this place? Is there a fireplace and floo powder anywhere?"

"I remember in the headmaster's office, there was a really large fireplace." she told him, "I didn't see any floo powder, but I'm sure if we look around, we'll be able to find it."

"Do you know how to get there?"

She paused for a moment.

"Sort of..." she gave him an apologetic look, "I know the general layout of the building, but not all that well."

'Well, at least we have a plan."

They both jumped as Ally's wand turned purple and a note shot out of the tip.

"Lily!" Ally shouted for joy, and was about to reach for the note, when Sirius grabbed her hand.

"Wait! Al we _don't _know if it's real! Death Eaters could easily persuade her to write you a fake note, lure us in."

She stopped at his warning and eyed the note curiously.

"But we're the only ones who know that we send notes to each other by wand... And why would the Death Eaters be after us? We're just a couple of students."

He sighed.

"They don't care if we're a couple of students; all they care about is your blood. I don't know about you, but to them I'm a blood traitor."

"My great grandmother was a muggle..." she said slowly... "After that my family started to marry half bloods and muggle borns..." he squeezed her hand and picked up the note, reading it out loud it said.

_Al,_

_It's Lil; I found some paper and a quill. James and I are in this weird room, full of clocks. Where are you? We need to get together and find a way out._

Ally got up and searched a desk nearby. She tore of a blank page she found in the back of a book, and stole a quill and ink from a desk. Sitting down next to Sirius again she put her pen to the page... then stopped.

"What should I say...? Should I ask her to verify if it's really her? It's her handwriting..."

"Sure start with that." he replied.

She put her quill to the page and started to write.

**Lil,**

**I'm sorry to have to ask this. But if it's really you, tell me where we hid the ingredients for our potion.**

**Al**

She showed it to Sirius.

"Could anyone else know where it was hidden?"

"Not a chance... No one else knew but me and her." she replied.

He nodded and she held it up to her wand. The note was sucked through the tip and a few seconds later she received another reply. On the back of the note Ally was had written an answer was scribbled.

_Al,_

_The disco ball in our room, and I understand._

_Where are you?_

Ally sighed in relief.

"Is it the right answer?" Sirius asked reading over her shoulder.

"Yep!" Ally answered happily.

**Lil,**

**Glad it's you! I think I know where you are. I've been to this university before. You're on the fifth floor and we're on the third. Go down the first two sets of stairs you find and look through a bunch of lecture rooms, keep going until you come to a small library, that's where we are. Tear this up or burn it as soon as you get it.**

**Al**

Sirius looked it over and nodded in agreement with the last line.

"Send it,"

She sent the letter through her wand and the settled back against the wall, sitting and waiting for their friends.

"So..." Sirius said after a moment of silence, "you have a disco ball in your room?'

"Oh," she laughed, "Yeah, my idea to decorate."

He grinned and lifted one eyebrow at her.

"And just why were you little angels hiding potions ingredients in it?"

"Er—" she fumbled, "Well, you see... we weren't really hiding it... Per se..."

His grin grew at her awkward answer and he pushed the topic further.

"Why did you need potions ingredients outside of the potions room?"

"To make a potion?"

_We really should have come up with an alibi if anyone found out. That was dumb... _

"Why were you making a potion outside of class? Nothing scandalous, I hope." he tsked at her, "If you're not careful I may have to report you to McGonagall."

Suddenly an idea formed in her head.

"We were doing it for extra credit!" she said happily.

"Extra credit, eh? Professor Slughorn _never _gives out extra credit." he said, with the same grin plastered on his face.

"He made an exception for me and Lily!" she said, making it up as she went along. "You know how he likes to play favorites."

"You are, by far, the worst liar, ever." he said, "What were you really doing?"

She sighed. _Just stick to your story, don't falter. Aw, man, he totally knows._

"Extra credit," she said, "Just like I told you..."

He started to laugh and patted her on the head.

"Don't worry Al, I won't tell on you..."

She rolled her eyes and just played dumb; shooting him a grin to show she understood what he was talking about, though.

"I haven't a slightest clue what you're talking about, Black."

"Sirius."

"No, _I'm_ serious. You seem to be playing this game in your head where I'm guilty of smuggling potions ingredients."

"Hey!" he said, "That's my joke!"

"Riiiiiiiight." she laughed.

"You know what's cool about you?"

"Wha..." she said goofily.

"Any other girl in our year would be a blubbering mess right now, but you haven't stepped out of character at all, you kept your cool."

"Hey," she slicked her hair back and faked popping her collar, "I always keep _my_ cool."

**(A/N I hate characters that step out of their normal behavior once something bad has happened, it's really annoying. I want my character to be like Mercutio, always the same, steady. Okay... and I can't resist comic relief. XD)**

They stopped conversing when they heard a soft knock on the door. Ally and Sirius pulled out their wands. Standing up, she held her wand with two hands and stepped forward.

"Lil? Lily, is that you?"

She rounded the corner. Lily and James stood there, looking horrible. Lily was frightened, Ally could tell, but didn't look too badly beaten up. Once they saw each other, they dropped their wands to their sides and hugged.

"Thank God, are you guys all right?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, how are you doing?" she said and they parted.

"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed, "What the heck happened to your arm!"

Ally looked over at James. His suit had a large rip in it at the arm. He was clutching it to his chest, and Ally could see blood on him. He looked like he was ill.

"Death Eaters," he hissed painfully, "Barely got away."

Sirius helped his friend to a chair by one of the numerous desks and observed his arm.

"That looks bad, mate."

Ally peered over at James. His arm had a deep cut on it. The cut was turning an unattractive shade of yellow and she saw Lily wince when she looked at it.

"They shot out a spell at us; James took it in the arm."

"Right place to get a magical injury I guess."

"What do you mean right place!" James fumed, "We have no idea where the heck we are! Not to mention if we so much as walk five feet away, a group of pureblood maniacs won't hesitate to blast us apart!"

"I mean..." Ally waved her arms at the shelves of book, "We are in a University of _healing_. There are tons of book in here that were probably written for the sole purpose of healing that cut on your arm. Come on," she pulled a bunch of books off the shelf, "Let's start looking."

An hour and a half later...

Ally's group was looking feverishly through piles of books, trying to figure out the cure to James' cut. James had lied down on the desk, after clearing it off, and been complaining of pain in his arm since then. It wasn't his usual complaining, it was real genuine distress, and his friends could hear it in his voice. They increased their efforts after a few minutes.

Books on everything were scattered on the floor, thrown after being read through. Disease, black marks, curses, jinxes, exes, bruises...

Lily jumped up abruptly, not bothering to say anything, she walked over to James.

This had happened several times before, either Ally or Lily or Sirius would walk up and just try a spell on him. None of the previous spells had taken any affect on his arm. After a while his yellow skin started to turn a horrid green.

"Ostendo sum aegrotatio" she pronounced quickly.

A blue light emanated from her wand and she put the tip of it on the center of the cut. James winced visibly but kept his mouth shut. Ally gave him a little credit for not yelling. He squirmed a little and Lily pulled away to observe her work.

'Thank goodness..." she sighed.

James lifted his head and looked down at his arm, the mark had gone away, and nothing remained but faint traces of blood on his shirt.

"T-thanks," he stuttered, "I owe you one Lil,"

"No," she said biting down on her lip disapprovingly, "You don't owe me anything, that shot was meant for me and you know it. We're even."

A tense moment followed. Ally and Sirius looked at each other as if to say. _What the heck... We missed something. _And then Sirius spoke up.

"So... why don't you tell us what happened while we were here?"

Minutes later...

After Sirius and Lily told them what they had been up to, running, the Malfoy's, letters, and then figuring out that they needed to head to the Headmasters office. Ally had left out what Sirius and she talked about, not wanting to betray his trust.

When they had finished, Lily began her tale. She had been dancing with James when the Death Eaters attacked; so she and James ran out of the hall and through the courtyard. When they had run far enough, they looked back and saw that Bonham was burning. They kept running though, not wanting to get caught up in the fighting. The courtyard was huge, as Lily described it. It was a maze of tall bushes and fountains; there were large gargoyles that decorated the yard.

James and she had run into a few other people while in the courtyard. Ally was happy to hear that they had run into her uncle and aunt in the yard. Ally wasn't too happy to hear, however, that after they ran into each other, a Death Eater showed up.

Ally was in suspense as Lily spoke about the duel between her uncle and the Death Eater. But she wasn't able to listen to the end because her uncle had ordered James and Lily into the building.

Lily continued to tell their story. James and she had run up the stairs to the fifth floor, looking for Ally and Sirius. They had planned to keep going up the stairs to the top floor and work their way down, searching each room of the wing connected to Bonham. But when they had reached the fifth floor they saw someone enter one of the rooms. They followed them carefully, but when they opened the door it was Death Eaters.

"Three of them, they saw me and one of them whispered 'mudblood'," Lily said. "We were outnumbered, I saw a flash of yellow lightning and James yelled out. He had thrust his arm out to protect me."

"Wait," said Ally. "How did they know you were muggle-born?"

"They must have heard her announced at the ball and realized that there weren't and wizard families by the name of Evans," said Sirius.

They had continued running away from the Death Eater's, knowing they didn't stand a chance against three of them at once. They ran through rooms, ending up on in the clock room Lily had described in her letter. She described sending the note and then having to dodge numerous Death Eaters in the halls.

"They're prowling all over the place guys," she said, finishing her tale, "We can't move from this room."

"How will we get to the Headmaster's office if we can't leave?" Ally asked. They were all lying on the couches in the room. James looked thoroughly exhausted from his wound. Sirius had bags under his eyes and had started to nod off while Lily was talking. Ally had to admit, she was pretty tired, and her yawning was becoming ferocious.

Lily sighed and lay back on a pillow.

"I don't know... We'll figure it out later..." she yawned. Let's just rest... close our eyes for a little..."

"Yeah..."Ally yawned and lay back on her end of the couch, 'Just for a little while..."

Her eyelids grew heavy and she was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Morning, November 1st.

Ally stretched, her eyes still closed. _I don't want to go to Transfiguration..., I feel terrible, and my legs hurt sooooooo badly. Ugh... okay time to get up._

She opened her eyes. _When did our ceiling change..? Where am I...? Oh._ Memories came flooding back to her. The ball... Death Eaters... Sirius... Lily and James.

She looked around her. Lily was lying down across the couch, her arm draped over the side. Unknowingly her arm fell across James, who fell asleep sitting up at the bottom of the couch. His suit was still torn at the arm, but was looking considerably better than he looked yesterday.

Ally had fallen asleep next to Sirius. He had moved during the night and his head was lying down on her stomach.

_Player... _she thought and shook him.

"What? I don't have fleas... stop spraying me..."

"Don't be thick Sirius." she said, "Wake up."

He lifted his head drowsily and looked around. Taking in his surroundings, a look of realization appeared on his face. He looked at Lily and smiled when he saw her arm. Then he realized where his head had just been laying and grinned at Ally.

"Gooooood Morning!" he said cheerfully.

She pushed him off and stood up sorely.

"Maybe for you, but I feel like crap.'

He stretched and stood up, as much as he tried to hide it, he winced when his muscles moved.

"Never mind... bad morning..." he groaned.

She pointed to Lily and James.

"There's no chance you have a camera on you, is there?" Ally whispered, careful not to wake up their friends. Sirius grinned back.

"No, but I know how to take one with my wand." he whispered.

"Do it!" she said.

He drew his wand out and waved it in the air. A purple lining in the shape of a square appeared.

"We have five seconds..."

He and Ally hurried into the picture. They put on silly faces and pointed to Lily and James. Sirius had on a look of disgust and Ally looked like she disapproved immensely of their behavior.

The flash from the camera awakened Lily and James, who didn't seem to notice their position. Lily mumbled and turned over on the couch sleepily. James stretched and opened his eyes.

"Where am I?"

"Vegas," Ally said sarcastically, "you, lucky dog, have just won an all expenses paid trip!"

James rolled his eyes and stood up. He stretched and looked around.

"Whoa..." he said in amazement, looking beyond where Sirius and Ally were standing.

They turned to look at whatever he was staring at and they too opened their mouths in shock.

Outside the window was Bonham hall. They could see across the large courtyard, to where the damage was. The ground was smoking and rubble and debris now stood where the left wall of Bonham once was. The dome still stood, half gone. The rest of Bonham stood, remarkably, still intact. Some of the courtyard they looked over was visibly burnt. Lily had woken up and joined them in staring.

"That's horrible..." she said.

Faintly, you could see wizards searching in the rubble, clearing off some, others were walking around.

"Are they Death Eaters?" Lily asked softly

'No..." Ally replied, "They're ministry officials... Look." she pointed over to a group of wizards gathered around something, "They're taking one of the Death Eaters off to Azkaban."

A large group had gathered in one spot. They were dragging a man in chains. Ally couldn't see him clearly from where they were, but he looked like he hadn't given up on escaping.

"Let's get out of here." James said, "I want to get home."

"Me too," Ally agreed, "Follow me to the Headmaster's office."

Ally forced her sore legs into moving and led her friends out of the library.

"Wands ready." Sirius said and they all drew their wands with two hands. Prepared for anything, they continued.

They traveled up many stairs and slopes, climbing higher and higher. Ally was leading them to the tower her Uncle had shown her before. Eventually they reached a large stair; it was in a circular form that led them to the office.

They reached a large door at the top of the stairs. It was made of white stone. She reached for the large doorknob and turned it. Entering the room, she saw nothing in disarray. The room was possibly the only part of the university that was still in perfect shape after last night.

A large ornate desk stood in the middle of the room in front of a large balcony window. The room was very neat, two small tables and a large bookcase were on the left wall. A fireplace sat on the right side of them and two file cabinets were in the corner.

Luckily they didn't have to tear through anything, on the desk sat a large white bowl, filled to the brim with floo powder.

"Good." she said.

Ally walked over to the bowl and picked it up. Her friends stood nearby the fireplace when she turned around, obviously anxious to leave.

Lily was first to go. She stepped into the flames that James had ignited seconds earlier.

"Where am I going?" she asked.

"Dumbledore." James said, "He'll know what to do."

"Right," she said, "Hogwarts, Dumbledore's office!" she threw her floo powder down and vanished into the flames.

James followed suit and Sirius and Ally were the only ones left in the room.

"You can go." Ally said.

"No, you go, I don't mind being last. Besides," he grinned, "Ladies first."

She smiled at him and gave him a hug. Standing on tip toes, she kissed him on the cheek quickly and then disappeared into the flames.

Seconds after, she fell onto the rug of Dumbledore's office, Sirius landed next to her, nearly tripping.

"Well," Dumbledore said, standing in front of the Potters and her uncle who were sitting in the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. They were all looking nervous, relieved, and shocked at their children's sudden appearance out of the fire. "That settles that."

**(A/N The heat... it burns! It is sooooooo hot out! Nearly 100 degrees and I'm spazzing. Thank goodness for A.C.)**


	11. Chapter 11 Midnight Stroll

Chapter Eleven

Where we last left off...

Ally was taken by surprise when her uncle picked her up in a hug and twirled her around.

"Al!" he shouted joyfully, a large grin on his face. He set her on the ground and looked her up and down. Ally could see stars in her eyes when her feet hit the ground.

"You look _horrible_!" he said, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Er—thanks...same to you." she stumbled on the words, and they slurred from her mouth.

Ally looked him up and down. He still wore on the same suit that he wore yesterday. His suit was completely covered in ash from head to toe. There was a rip on his pant leg and on his upper left arm. Other than that, he didn't look all that beat up, in fact, he looked rather exhilarated. The only physical reminder of the previous night was a small cut above his left eyebrow. She was having difficulty focusing on his figure, and attributed it to all that had happened.

Her uncle looked at her curiously and then over her shoulder catching sight of Lily.

"Lil!" he said and swept her into a big hug. He spun her around like he did Ally. Ally had trouble seeing that too. Everything was starting to look fuzzy.

"Er—" Lily said and patted his back awkwardly, "Lovely to see you too."

Ally laughed drunkenly and squinted over at the Potters.

Mrs. Potter was sitting, clutching James and Sirius to her. She was crying and muttering 'My boys... my boys...' while Mr. Potter stood next to her, his hands on Sirius' and James' shoulders. She tried to focus on them but the world kept swaying back and forth... back and forth.

She didn't get a moment to think to herself, because she was pulled into another hug by her uncle.

"Lil said you confounded a Death Eater!" he grinned madly, "That's my girl!"

"I had help." Ally said, smiling, "and can you put me down?"

'Oh, right." he said and placed her back on the ground, "I'm just so proud o' my little Al..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and all attention turned to him. Ally could barely see him.

"If you will excuse me," he said, the twinkle in his eye was a bit dull that day, "I have some business to attend to. I'll leave you to tell your tales."

He smartly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. As soon as the door closed with a click, her uncle ushered Lily and her into Dumbledore's chairs. Ally stumbled over to the chair and collapsed into its arms.

"Quickly, quickly," he said.

He walked over to where Mrs. Potter was holding Sirius and James. As gently as he could, he pried the boys away from her. Then he led them over to the other chairs and sat them down.

The Potters stood, waiting.

"Well," his uncle said, "what are you waiting for?" he urged her on.

"For _you_ to tell _me_ what _you_ are waiting for _from_ me." Ally said giddily.

He grinned at her smart comment and smacked himself in the head.

"Of course," he muttered to himself, "_I_ or _we,_" he gestured to the Potters, "are waiting for _you_ to tell _us _what happened to _you_ last night."

"Got it," Ally said. She sat up in straight in her chair and then fell back harshly.

"It was a dark and stormy night--" she began dramatically and drunkenly.

"I should have specified," her uncle said. "You have to tell your story _seriously and without improvisation._"

"Maybe Sirius should tell it then," Lily said.

"Hey!" Ally protested to the stars in her eyes.

"I agree," said James, "There's no chance Al will be able to tell it seriously."

"Fine..." Ally conceded. She wasn't feeling up to anything anyways. Sirius started telling his friends and family what happened.

Sirius had told their tale exactly as it happened, leaving out a few parts where they had spoken privately. When he came to the part where Lily and James met up with them, her uncle held up a hand, silencing him.

"Before we come to that, let's here what Lily and James were up to. I believe I ran into them once, and am curious as to how their tale unfolded." He pointed his hand at James, who started Lily's and his tale. Ally tried to see James, but he kept slipping in and out of focus, her head felt like someone was hammering on it...

It was around noontime, when James' tale came up to the moment where Lily and he met up with Sirius and Ally. He paused, to see if Ally's uncle would stop him, and when her uncle showed no indication of halting the story he continued on.

He came to the part describing the search for a cure and how Lily came across the solution. In the back Ally could here Mrs. Potter gasp and sob a little, the noise came sharply to her ears and she winced a little.

James finished the tale with Ally, Sirius, Lily and him coming across the Headmaster's office and flooing from there to Dumbledore.

The parents sat, stunned a little at the whole retelling of the story. Ally moved to get up but her uncle held her down. She fell back heavily on the chair.

"Wait," he said to her quietly, "You don't look good."

So she waited in silence... silence... silence. Her eyelids felt heavy... she rested her head back on the chair... the world fell back into darkness.

"Al!" she heard faintly.

"Al!"

_Again? _She thought, annoyed. _I'm not getting up and you can't make me._

Someone was shaking her shoulders roughly and she batted them away with her hand. Her hand made contact with something solid and she could hear laughter.

"Al!"

She opened her eyes wearily and stared up at a black blob.

"Why gummy," she said sweetly, "How are travels?"

"Gummy?" someone said, "She's lost it."

"I think we already knew that." she heard Lily say.

"Lil?" Ally said opening her eyes fully.

She watched as the black blob formed slowly into Sirius, who was peering down at her.

"You're not gummy." she pulled the pillow out from under her and stuffed it over her head. "I'm not leaving until gummy comes!" she said.

Of course, she had a pillow over her head, so it came out more like... "Eye-mof-Eeven-mumfil-gumee-omes."

"What was that? Did anyone catch that?" she heard Sirius ask.

"She said... 'Eye-mof-Eeven-mumfil-gumee-omes' word for word, trust me, I know."

"That's weird Lily," Ally said, taking the pillow off her head and placing it back, "I mean, I remember things, but not word for word, like you do."

She looked around the room. Sirius, Lily, and Remus stood around her bed like, hawks peering down at her. She was in the hospital wing. _How did I get here?_ She thought to her self.

"What happened?" she asked... looking up at all their intent faces

"You blacked out in the office," Lily said to her. "After we finished talking to your Uncle and the Potters."

"Really?" she asked stunned, "But I never do anything like that! I think you must be confusing me with my good twin sister."

"We're not joking," she said seriously, "you blacked out and your uncle had to carry you to the hospital wing. You've been asleep for two days, today is Tuesday."

"You mean to tell me... that I've been _asleep_ for two whole days? That is so not groovy! How many classes did I miss? How much homework do I have? Oh, I hate being sick, it makes me so anxious." she fell back onto her pillow.

"Relax," Remus came into her vision, "The teachers decided to give you a reprieve."

"Don't use big words on me Remus!" Ally said seriously, "What does that mean?"

"You don't have to do any of the assignments you missed."

"I don't!"

"None." he said smiling, "and..."

"And what?"

"And none of the assignments you _will_ be missing." he said nervously, shuffling his feet.

"_Will_ be missing... as in future tense?" she said slowly, looking at him with one eyebrow raised. Then she turned to her friends, she looked at them one by one, none of them seemed to be able to meet her eye.

"_Will _be missing?" she repeated, "What the heck does _that _mean?"

"Madam Pomfrey says it's not good for your condition to be up and about."

"But... but..." she stuttered, she couldn't decide on being confused, or just plain angry. She decided on confused. _Maybe I'll switch to angry later._

"Why?"

"You've been under too much stress." Remus said at her confused look, "She wants to keep you here overnight."

"Overnight?"

"Yes, during that time when it goes all dark, people call that night." James muttered.

"I heard that." Ally scowled, "and I don't see why I have to stay overnight. It's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous," Madam Pomfrey said, coming over to her bed, "It's perfectly within regulation for me to make you stay overnight.

"Still, I don't see why... I'm in perfect health!"

She flipped back the covers and stood up; she straightened herself out, placing her hands on her hips and smiled confidently. Still smiling, she said...

"Someone catch me..." and Ally fell over back onto the bed.

Lily and the rest of them laughed at her show, Ally she sent them a glare.

"Told you so." Madam Pomfrey sniffed, "This isn't the time to be playing games." she turned around and placed a vial of _something_ on Ally's nightstand.

"What is _that_?" Ally said.

"Medicine, to make you relaxed." she replied and poured it out into a small glass cup. The medicine was clear white and it fizzed, reminding Ally of some muggle soda shops she'd seen in France.

"I am relaxed!" she said looking at the medicine with suspicion.

"Oh... really?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed and took out her wand. It let out a light bang and Ally jumped, nearly falling off her bed.

Ally looked around wildly. No one else in the room had jumped, only Ally had.

"What the heck did you do that for!" She cried out, falling back onto her pillows.

"To prove that you're the exact opposite of relaxed. You're high strung." Madam Pomfrey said, disapprovingly.

"Fine... give me whatever _that_ is." Ally pointed at the clear medicine.

"Will you fight?" she asked, putting her wand away.

"Maaaaaybe." Ally said, shrugging her shoulders.

Madam Pomfrey sighed and handed the cup to her. Ally looked at it with disgust. It smelt like nothing, which probably meant it tasted like something horrible. She tipped back her head and plugged her nose, downing it with one gulp. It felt like the liquid was floating down her throat, making her a bit queasy.

Unexpectedly, the medicine spread throughout her body and she could feel every muscle slowly relax.

"Weird." she said and slumped back onto her bad.

"I'll leave you and your friends to chat," in a flash, Madam Pomfrey cleared Ally's nightstand of the medicine and left the bed.

"Well, we'll be seeing you Ally." James said and nodded at Sirius and Remus, "Can't stay much longer, pressing business, as you know." he added.

"Going to terrorize more first years," Ally rolled her eyes, "Because I think Peeves might beat you to it..." she pointed to the door, and low and behold, Peeves happened to float by, levitating some kind of bat, while smiling insanely.

"Whoops!" James said, "Got to be going, told Peter we would meet him! Bye Al... love." he winked at Lily who rolled her eyes.

"Some things never change," she muttered, with a trace of a smile.

"See you Al," Remus said, dropping off some chocolate frogs on her nightstand, "Thought I'd get some candy for you as you do for me, when I'm in the hospital wing." he whispered in her ear, and backed off smiling.

"See ya around." Sirius said and waved as the trio backed out of the room.

As soon as they left, Lily peeked out the door and looked to see if they were still there. As soon as she was certain they were gone, she ran back over to Ally's bed, plopping down on the side.

"You won't believe what Potter and his group have planned."

"Huh?" Ally said.

"Well, I was walking back to the Common Room, after visiting the Owlery. I was mailing my mum." She explained. "Anyway, I was in the corridor, when I heard some voices. They were all hushed and talking very quietly. I snuck up and hid behind one of those huge tapestries in the hallways."

She paused as Madam Pomfrey walked by and waited until she was out of earshot.

"... I waited for a little while, and I heard Potter and his group talking. They were whispering about a party of some sort. They were talking about these plans to sneak down to the kitchens tonight and get the elves to make them food. Black even wanted to get firewhisky!"

"No way... We have to join them."

Lily looked at her incredulously.

"Nooooo, we have to _punish_ them... in our own way. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this sort of stuff, it's preposterous."

"So what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm not sure yet... but..."

"But... what?" Ally inquired.

"Well, it's sort of weird, how they can get away with all this stuff. The pranks I mean, without being seen." she sniffed.

"What's so mysterious about that?"

"Well, there was this one time... It's stupid."

"No! Tell me!" Ally said, "I'll bug you forever if you just leave me off on a hook like that!"

"Okay... it was in the winter... and during the winter, we usually have this big snowball fight with Hufflepuff. It's for fun, but some people take it really seriously. You see, each team makes a big fort and each team has an equal number of players on it. It's only fair, right?"

Ally nodded in understanding and urged her on with the story.

"Well, there was a particularly nasty snowball fight last year, our fifth year. People were hexing each other and jinxing snowballs. I wasn't playing. I was sitting on the bench with Remus, studying for our O.W.L.S. Remus wasn't looking good, now that I think about it, so it was probably near full moon."

"I hated O.W.L.S." Ally said disdainfully.

"Yeah, me too," Lily said and continued, "Eventually Remus and I couldn't focus and turned our attention to the fight. Hufflepuff was winning by a lot and the Gryffindors were getting frustrated, you could tell because they were throwing a lot of bogus shots. Anyway, all of a sudden, there didn't seem to be a lot of team members on the Gryffindor team. I counted heads and there were only ten when there should have been thirteen. Three of them went missing."

"I can do _some _math Lily, don't insult me." Ally joked.

"I looked at the faces of the teammates and soon realized that it was Potter, Black, and Pettigrew. I scoured the grounds around the fight and saw something... interesting."

"Like...?" Ally said.

"Footprints."

"Oh, yeah you don't see those everyday." Ally said sarcastically.

"Footprints that appeared suddenly, with no one around to make those footprints..."

As mentioned before, Ally did not catch onto things very easily.

"So... that means... another vampire?"

"No! It _means _that someone was walking around invisible. Think, who did I say was missing from the team?"

"James, Sirius, and Peter..."

"So..."  
"So... James, Sirius and Peter... are vampires?"

"No, Ally, this has nothing to do with vampires.'

"Yes," realization finally dawned on Ally's face. "I've got it!"

"Oh, good." Lily sighed. "So how are we—"  
"James, Sirius and Peter _are_ vampires! Vampires don't have a reflection in mirrors or water. They were soaked in water from the snowball fight, and since they didn't have a reflection in the water, they turned invisible. It all makes sense! They're throwing a vampire party! Trying to lull people in to suck their blood..."

Ally rambled on while Lily smacked herself on the forehead. She stood up and shook Ally on the shoulders, causing Ally to stop.

"Wrong again, Ally. James, somehow, I don't know how..."

"Neither do I! They hid it so well."

"... Came in possession of an invisibility cloak!"

Later...

Throughout the day other people came to visit Ally. Lily was the most frequent, being her best friend, but there were others.

Pria and Carla were probably the most cheerful visitors she got. They had brought up tons of snack and treats. Pria told her all about what had been happening since they had gotten back.

"The ministry has been trying to cover up _everything_." she told Ally, "Bunch of cowards. The Daily Prophet keeps trying to tone it all down. They say that it was just a prank that a group of teenagers did. Not you, of course, other people. Like the university students. They're all being questioned, even though everyone knows it was the Death Eaters doing. They were under orders from Vol..."Her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"Well... um... you see, people these days... they're calling him You-Know-Who. It's just... less painful for everyone. Instead of saying V-vold-," she sighed. "Please don't make me say it."

Carla and her left a little while after. They said goodbye and promised to bring Ally more sweets in the morning.

They weren't the only ones. Ally had never had this many people in her life come to visit her. The Ravenclaw that had gone to the ball came, Sirius dropped by and told her a few jokes, Lily again, two Hufflpuffs she had never even met, a few Gryffindors she had seen in the Common Room, and even Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah," he said sitting down next to her, "I see you have received many sugary tokens!"

"Yep!" Ally beamed at the headmaster, "What do you need, Professor?"

"Alas! You've caught me in quite a predicament. For a while now I have been trying to come up with four words, to inspire strength, intelligence, courage, and loyalty."

"I see," Ally said wisely, "You've come to the right person."

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "Lately I have been so busy I haven't come up with a fourth word, so far all I have got is... Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! And--and..." he sighed, looking genuinely tired... "That's all, I went to several others, but only you can give me the proper insight I need."

"Hmm," she said, "That's a toughie."

"Toughie is close... You're on the right track!" Dumbledore said excitedly

"Toughie...Truckee...tracker...treaty...tweakie...Tweak!" she said happily.

"Tweak..." Dumbledore repeated, "Perfect!"

He adjusted his hat on his head and stood up.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" and then he left the room, leaving Ally to giggle.

Lily came back for the thousandth time and went over their plan together. Everything would be set up ahead of time, if possible. Lily had decided that she would sneak out of the Common Room later that night. Ally agreed to meet her outside the old transfiguration classroom.

Once that was said and done, Lily left Ally; she had been ushered out by Madam Pomfrey.

"Time for you to go to bed, you've had far too many visitors today."

Madam Pomfrey closed the curtains around her bed and turned off the lights to the hospital wing.

Nighttime, close to nine o clock...

Ally had to admit, the hospital wing at night was scary. Everywhere she looked the shadows seemed to loom over her. The only light left on was a small lantern, one on the wall of each bed.

Ally had been pretending to be asleep for a while now. She had seen Madam Pomfrey get up every once and a while and get something, a glass or a piece of paper.

_How long does this woman take to go to bed? _ Ally thought irritably when she saw Madam Pomfrey open her office door once again.

Eventually, the wing was quiet. Ally wasn't completely sure that Madam Pomfrey had gone to bed, but she figured it was safe to check. If she was caught, she would just claim she wanted a sleeping draught and had gone to knock on her door.

Ally lifted her head up and listened for any signs of movement.

She threw off her covers and stood. Wobbling a little, the medicine had not quite worn off, she stretched. Her muscles were a bit slow; she tested them out, by taking a slow step forward. Ally took a moment to realize that she was in hospital pajamas, and wished the hospital wing had better style. She grabbed her Hogwarts robe, lying at the bottom of her bad, to cover herself up. Her feet seemed to hold her, but she could only walk slowly. Spying her wand on the nightstand, Ally twisted it into her hair. _Might need that..._ She pulled back the curtains and cautiously made her way toward Madam Pomfrey's door.

_This is going to be slow..._ she thought. _ Well, just hope I don't get caught by anyone; I won't be able to run away! _She pressed her ear against the door to Pomfrey's office and listened intently for any sign of movement. All she heard was the soft snoring of the hospital mistress, already asleep.

Ally looked around the room and, using the wall to support her, she wobbled over to the door. She opened the door sluggishly and closed it behind her. Ally was panting by now... _Why am I so weak? This shouldn't take so long... _She focused on getting to the end of the hallway.

In no time she had come to her first set of stairs. _This is hard; I wish I hadn't taken that medicine. Then again, Madam Pomfrey would have forced it down my throat if I had refused. _ She drooped down to the floor, placing her foot on the step below and dragged her body down the steps. _This kind of reminds me of when I was little... _She reached the bottom of the steps and used one of the pedestals the knights' armor stood on, to bring her to her feet.

_That was easy, only four million more stairs to go._ She was desperately wishing that Hogwarts had a muggle elevator, when she heard movement around the corner. She froze, still leaning against the wall.

"Look! The map!" she heard a squeaky voice say.

"Shhhh" another voice whispered.

**(A/N If you don't know who that is... Well, that's sad.)**

Ally listened intently; no one seemed to be there as she stuck her head around the corner. She turned the corner, still using the wall to support her weight. She slumped against the wall once she saw no one there.

"Well, my life is fun." she said sarcastically. She jumped when she heard someone snicker silently, and then the snicker was cut off.

Ally jumped to her feet, her muscles suddenly throbbing with awareness. She untwisted the wand from her hair and held up it with two hands.

"Who's there?" she demanded and whirled around to look, holding her wand up threateningly.

Nothing showed except for a few looming tapestries and the normal Hogwarts paintings.

"Show yourself," she demanded, "I know you're there."

She moved forward down the hall, suddenly someone else rounded the corner.

"Stupefy!" they yelled.

"Expelliarmus!" she countered.

Her attacker's wand flew out of their hand and clattered to the floor next to where Ally was standing. Ally dodged the stunning spell and held her wand at the ready for anything.

"Al!" Lily said.

"Lil! You scared me!" Ally reached down and picked up Lily's wand, tossing it to Lily she asked.

"I thought we were meeting down near the old transfiguration classroom!" Ally said.

Lily caught her wand and looked over at Ally. Lily was wearing her robe over her pajamas. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun.

"I thought we were too," Lily said walking down the length of the hallway to where Ally stood, "It's nearly midnight, where have you been?"

"Midnight!" Ally cried, "It can't have taken me _that_ long to get down here. That medicine the Pomfrey gave me slowed me down. Where were you?"

"I was waiting for you, after a while I decided to go look, you hadn't shown up."

"Sorry," Ally said sheepishly, "normally I'm very punctual."

Lily looked around her.

"Who were you yelling at anyway?"

"I don't know," Ally pondered, "I heard a voice say something about a map. Then another voiced shushed them and I looked around. No one was there, seems they've disappeared."

"Was it the caretaker?"

"You mean that crazy kid Filch?" Ally asked, raising her eyebrows. "No, this voice was younger, kind of squeaky. Almost like a first year."

Once again she heard a soft snicker and in no time Lily and Ally raised their wands.

"I heard that too," Lily said, "Could it be an animal?"

"No, it was human,"

Lily and Ally stood back to back.

"Ally," Lily whispered, "I just thought of something..."

"What?" Ally said, agitated she wasn't more focused on whatever it was stalking them.

"Maybe it's who we're looking for," Lily said, "You know, since you can't seem to _see _them."

"_See_ them?" Ally asked, "Who we're looking for?"

Ally thought quickly, suddenly realization struck her face.

"Oh... you mean our friend... the pig?"

"Yes... the pig." Lily said, "Perhaps we can stall it long enough, that it won't be able to escape and run through Hogwarts..."

"That is a good idea," Ally said, "Let's stay here, and stun anything that moves..."

Lily raised her voice so that anyone who had been listening could hear her.

"Or we could stun anything that we _hear_ moving, you never know where the pig could be hiding..."

Ally and Lily stood stationary for what seemed like an hour, but it could have been a mere fifteen minutes. It seemed longer in Ally's mind because her muscles didn't seem to have the ability to hold her up.

After a while they sunk to the floor and rested a bit. Ally's eyes were heavy from fatigue and she crawled over to the wall, resting her head against the stone. Lily followed suit and, together, they almost fell asleep.

_Almost_.

Soon after they appeared to be resting, Ally heard light and slow footsteps on her left. She elbowed Lily discretely and gripped her wand. Lily also lifted her wand and she nodded over to the left.

Lily pointed her wand over to a blank space near where the footsteps originated. She said a spell Ally didn't recognize and a yellow light shot out of her wand. The yellow light dimmed to a faint point on the ceiling. The light moved, wherever the footsteps went, the yellow point followed, bouncing happily on the ceiling.

As soon as the footsteps faded around the corner, Lily and Ally sprang from their resting place on the floor.

"That light will follow Potter and them, hurry!"

Ally and Lily followed them around the corner, the footsteps quickened.

They followed the marauders doggedly wherever they went. Nearly every time they turned a corner, the footsteps sped up, going faster and faster.

Soon they were speed walking... jogging... now they were running, the yellow light was spinning around, floating after the marauders as fast as it could go.

Soon, Ally fell behind, she couldn't keep running, her entire body seemed to protest the exercise.

"Keep going!" Ally whispered urgently to Lily. Lily nodded her head and sprinted around the corner in hot pursuit.

Ally panted and leaned against the wall.

_Lily will probably catch them... or at least keep them running before they hit our trap. Peeves will be so excited to run into them. What did she say she was going to do again?_ Lily had spoken earlier about setting Peeves up. She never really explained how she was going to convince Peeves. Ally just supposed that Lily had some sort of persuasive skills with the poltergeist.

_Now I really wish I hadn't taken that medicine... I won't be able to see their faces as their caught by Peeves... _Lily said that, once the marauders ran into the poltergeist, she would use a spell that shot air out to uncloak the marauders. _I don't think that she planned for it to turn out this way though._ _How in the world did they see us following them? They said something about a map?_

Ally sighed and conceded to herself that it would be better to stop thinking, and instead wait for Lily to come back for her. _At least it's better this way... Now, Lily can run them straight into Peeves._

Ally sat down, once again, against the Hogwarts walls. She clutched her wand tightly, not trusting the shadows in the corners.

Something small moved in the corner. Ally raised her wand again.

"Hello?" she said softly.

A small, very thin, dusty cat padded forward. Her lamp-like eyes darted around and rested on Ally.

"Oh," Ally sighed, "Hello there, I'm Ally, who are you?"

The cat twitched its head to the side and took a few more steps forward.

Ally remembered that she still had a few bits of candy left in her pockets and, putting down her wad, reached for them. She shuffled through the contents of her robe pockets and found a pouch of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. She poured a few out, that she knew the cat wouldn't protest to and held them in her hand.

"Here kitty," she said softly, clicking her tongue, "Come here."

The cat sniffed her hand and ate the offered candy. She licked her teeth and rubbed against Ally legs, purring. Ally stroked the cat's fur fondly.

"I have a cat just like you at home..." she said.

The cat perked its ears up and looked at her; it seemed to understand what she said.

"You look very smart, when you do that." Ally whispered.

The cat yawned and turned her head to the end of the hall, listening. Suddenly she hissed and took off in the other direction.

Ally pushed against the wall, slowly getting up. Taking the cats warning to heart, she raised her wand, hands trembling.

Someone's swift footsteps could be heard just around the corner. Ally took a few steps backwards as they rounded the corner.

"Ally!" they said.

"Huh?" she looked at her friend with confusion on her face.

_Wasn't he supposed to be caught with the rest of them by now...?_

"What are you doing up! You're sick! Not to mention Filch is coming this way!" Sirius whispered quickly and pulled her away from the wall.

"No—don't!" she said too late, and she stumbled and fell to the floor. She hissed in annoyance at her slow body.

"What's wrong with you?" he said curiously and helped her to her feet. He helped support her while they hid in the shadows.

"Show." she said and pointed.

The cat she saw earlier passed by the end of the hallway. Following her was the caretaker, Filch, holding a lantern up, limping after the cat.

"Where's the trouble, Mrs. Norris?" he said.

Ally watched as the cat stopped, turned her head and gave Ally a wink. Then the cat slinked away, leading the caretaker far from where Ally and Sirius hid.

Sirius left Ally and looked around the corner.

'He's gone," he said and returned to where Ally leaned against the wall, "Are you alright?"

"Oh... Me?" Ally said, "I'm just dandy, for being out in the middle of the night, sick, and not being able to move."

She leaned against the wall and pushed herself up.

"What are you doing up?" she said.

"Oh," Sirius said, "Just prowling around... you know the usual," he said offhandedly.

Ally sighed, she knew he wasn't going to tell her anything, but they were friend so she would just ignore it.

"Listen," she said, "You don't tell anyone I was here, and I won't tell anyone you were here."

"Deal," he agreed quickly and went to help her off the wall, "Where do you need to be?"

"Not sure," Ally said, accepting the help gratefully, "I'm thinking that it would be a good time for me to make my way back to the hospital wing."

"Yeah," he grinned, "You look a bit off... Well, you always look a bit off, but more than usual."

Ally elbowed him in the stomach and smiled.

"At least I don't obsess about my hair."

"I do not!" he said and they started to walk down the hall, "I just happen to think that my hair will be the thing to defeat Voldemort!"

"Well," she said laughing, "I happen to think Voldemort will be defeated by a mandrake, they're fatal you know."

They continued to argue over which obscure way to defeat Voldemort was better. When they reached the hospital wing, they flung open the doors.

Inside, Filch was talking to the rest of the marauders; Madam Pomfrey was standing to the side, looking on.

All of them turned to look at Sirius and Ally, who just walked in the door.


	12. Chapter 12 Cover Ups

**(A/N I really like putting the place or the time before I start writing... so I think I'm going to make that a habit. Thoughts? And wow, I can't believe how much I have improved in my own standards... just by writing! Who'd have thunk it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!)**

**Disclaimer: I would be extremely happy to take Harry Potter off of JK Rowling's hands... but sadly I do not own Harry Potter. Only this OC and my plot...**

Chapter 12 Cover Ups...

Hospital Wing...

"This is preposterous! Five students out of bed! It's ridiculous is what it is!" McGonagall shouted, pacing the room in front of the marauders and Ally.

McGonagall was called down by Filch, the caretaker, soon after they arrived. Filch was intent on a horrible punishment, at least, judging by the evil gleam in his eyes. _He seems to be the type of person who _enjoys_ torture... _she thought. Ally supposed that, by bringing the Head of House down, McGonagall would be able to dole out a harsher punishment than Filch.

So far, McGonagall was more intent on lecturing them than punishing them. Once Ally and Sirius had walked into the room Filch had called McGonagall, and while McGonagall was on her way to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had scolded Ally severely and Ally could sense that she would never have a happy hospital visit again.

Ally and the Marauders were standing in a gaggle, looking down at their feet, ashamed.

"I will not allow you to disgrace the house of Godric Gryffindor, because of a lack of punishment! Twenty points will be taken... each!"

"What?"

"That's not fair!"

Sirius and James protested at the same time. Ally agreed with them, didn't McGonagall _want_ to win the house cup? Why would she take away a hundred points? It was a bit superfluous.

"It is absolutely fair Potter, Black! You have shown a total disregard for the rules that were set down for your own safety!"

She turned on Peter and Remus, looking down on them like a hawk.

"I expected this of Potter and Black, but a prefect! Remus Lupin, you should be able to exercise some control over your friends! Or at least refuse to participate in their wild adventures! And Peter! Why would you want to ruin your well made reputation of being such a good boy?"

She finally came to Ally, who was staring intently at the floor, transfixed by a small moth ball.

"Miss Pierce! I expected better from you! What would your uncle say! Such a prestigious family being brought down by their daughter's own foolishness! You wouldn't want to be the black sheep of your entire family, would you?"

"No..." she muttered silently, "So don't take the points from Potter and the rest."

Everyone in the room looked at her and she raised her head to look at McGonagall in the eye.

"What was that?"

"Don't take points off for them."

McGonagall looked at her disbelievingly.

"And why would I do that?" she said sharply, obviously irritated.

"It's my fault that they were out of bed, Professor."

McGonagall looked over at the marauders.

"What? This lot?"

"Yes," Ally looked over at her friends, and winked at them while McGonagall's head was turned, "It was my fault that they were out of bed Professor, you see. I was really mad that I had to stay overnight at the hospital wing, so I convinced them to come down and get me out. They actually tried to convince me not to. But I insisted... and they were afraid to say no, because of my _condition_."

McGonagall was looking at Ally and the Marauders unconvinced. Ally saw this and continued.

"They took that chance to make a sleeping draught for me, to make me forget about sneaking out, sleep it off. But it took longer to make than they thought, and it was nighttime by the time they came down. By that time I had already snuck out, Sirius split off from the group to look for me... and the rest of them were caught by peeves... That's when Filch caught them... and when Sirius found me, still affected by the medicine."

Ally finished her story, more confidant than she thought.

"So you want me to do... what?" McGonagall said.

"Well, it's obvious that Potter and his group had good intention... and I was obviously wrong..."

McGonagall sighed and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.

"It's too early in the morning for this..." she mumbled under her breath.

"Alright," she snapped back to reality, "Fifty points, Miss Pierce, for your foolishness, and you four," she pointed to the marauders, "Ten points will be given... for having honorable intentions... no matter how poorly they were acted out. And detention, all for all of you!"

She gave all of them a disapproving look.

"Any other thoughts, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Well," she glared at Ally, "Since you are well enough to run about the castle!" she exclaimed dramatically, "You may go back to your dormitory." she flung her arms up in defeat and slammed the door to her office shut.

"Jolly good," Ally said sarcastically, but she was still smiling. Peter heard and snickered under his breath.

McGonagall glared down at the two of them. Then she ushered them out of the hospital wing and watched them carefully as they walked to the Gryffindor common room.

"Not taking any chances, knowing you all, if I left you alone you'd run around the castle for the rest of the night." she said.

They entered the portrait hole and McGonagall gazed at them as they climbed the stairs to their dormitories. Ally ran up the stairs as soon as she was out of eyesight of McGonagall.

She barged into the room, Lily was sitting on her bed, waiting.

"What happened? Where did you go?"

Ally ran over to the bed and plopped down next to her.

"You won't believe it when I tell you!"

Five seconds later...

"Okay, Al you said that waaaaay to fast, try again."

"Snap! Alright, I'll slow down..."

Five _minutes_ later...

Ally finished her tale, slightly winded. Lily stared at her, dumbstruck, before she was brought back to life. She waved her hands exaggeratedly while she shouted at Ally.

"Why would you EVER, EVER, EVER cover up for Potter and them? What could have possibly possessed you? Have you gone insane? Are you ill?"

Lily placed her hand on Ally's forehead. Ally batted it away angrily.

"No! I'm not insane! This way, we only lose ten house points! You could earn those back in a millisecond Lily! You're the smartest girl in the school, for goodness sake! You're tutoring seventh years!" Lily looked abashed and Ally continued, "One hundred points was a huge blow to our standing for the house cup. Besides, this way, the marauders will be grateful to us. They probably won't even think about asking us what we were doing out of bed!"

Lily contemplated this for a while. Ally waited for her decision.

"Well..." she said skeptically and didn't continue.

Ally sighed and threw up her hands.

"You should have heard the way McGonagall was bashing us! She called me the black sheep of the family! I had to do something to get some respect from the marauders, especially after they heard _that_ comment."

'I guess it was a good idea," Lily concluded, "Even if Potter didn't deserve it..."

"Exactly, if they didn't deserve it, we did, I didn't want to earn back our _already_ well earned points!"

"So what were you up to?" Ally inquired.

"The plan, I was leading them directly to where Peeves was waiting. Used a spell to blow away their cloak, and hid. That was when Filch came by, led by that cat of his."

"Mrs. Norris?

"So I've heard." Lily replied, "Peeves had forgotten about the plan, apparently he likes to get students caught by teachers more than humiliating them, and he started to screech at the top of his lungs 'Students out of bed!'."

"Then what happened?" Ally said.

"I hid; Filch took the marauders away, and then I ran up to the girls dormitory. I would have waited in the common room, but it might've blown our cover if someone put two and two together."

"At least you weren't caught." Ally said, "That would have been more points off... or more points on, depending on how I lied about it."

"Yeah... but we still don't know if they're still planning that party." Lily said

"Yeah... we don't, do we? I still have that detention too."

"Yeah," Lily said, they both lay down on their beds, "Better get some sleep, we've already missed enough as it is."

"Night."

Ally felt drowsy as soon as her head hit the pillow; suddenly she shot up and looked over at Lily.

"What was Peeves planning to do? Before Filch came to the marauders rescue?"

Lily laughed evilly, something rather uncharacteristic of her.

"Tar and feather them."

Ally smirked and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, her dreams full of feathery marauders and a slimy Filch, deducting points from Gryffindor for every feather he had to pick up.

Morning...

Ally and Lily walked down the stairs that led up to the girls' dormitory.

"What do you think the marauders will do, when they see us?" Ally asked Lily, craning her head around to look at her.

"I think we're about to find out." Lily replied and nodded over to where the marauders sat.

They entered the common room, dressed in their Hogwarts robes. Potter's gang sat around the chess board, whispering secretively. The whispering stopped abruptly as soon as Ally and Lily came into view, the marauders heads all looked up to watch them walk out of the room.

'What?' Ally mouthed to Sirius, who just grinned at her.

Ally and Lily headed down to the great hall, being one of the first ones down there. They spoke freely about what had happened.

"Do you think they were talking about us?" Ally asked, loading up her plate.

"Well, it is universal code, that when someone stops talking when you come into the room, they were talking about you."

"Really?" Ally said oblivious, "I really should pick up on these things."

"Yeah, you should." Lily muttered with her mouth full.

Ally looked at her disapprovingly and put on a McGonagall voice.

"Miss Evans! Ten points, for lack of table manners!"

"Sorry," Lily smiled and swallowed.

"S'aright..." Ally said with her mouth full, "My manners are worse than yours."

"Do you think that Potter and his gang were talking about what happened last night?"

"They've probably already talked about it last night," Ally said, "I don't expect that they would just fall straight asleep after that." she licked her fingers as she finished off her piece of toast.

"Probably," Lily said, "Do you think they'll do something about it though? Are they planning something?"

"Knowing them the chances are..." Ally said, leaving Lily to fill in the blanks.

"Yes..." Lily groaned, "Why can't they leave anything alone?" she added as the rest of the school filed into the hall.

The marauders were one of the last ones in. Ally was surprised, normally they were one of the few students who arrived a full twenty minutes before anyone else, to stuff their faces.

"Must have gone to go get their invisibility cloak..." Lily pointed to James, who was carrying his pack, slightly bulging.

As usual, Sirius sat down next to Ally and engaged her in conversation about an obscure and mainly unimportant topic. Breakfast continued to be uneventful. The only indication of last night was the occasional glance by one of the marauders, normally at Ally.

After dinner they had their normal morning classes. Nothing else unusual, sometimes they would stop and talk to a few students, about nothing in particular.

The subject of the previous Death Eater attack hadn't quite died out yet, though. Some Slytherins would glare at her while Ally and Lily were walking to class. Other students would congratulate them and talk for a while. Ally had never received so much attention before and did her best to act humble, which didn't turn out well. In case you haven't seen Ally's acting skills, they are horrendous.

Ally went to her last class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures, the class that Ally had with all four marauders and Lily. Professor Kettleburn taught the class, a stocky man, with a few scary scratches that often persuaded students from taking the class in the first place.

The classes were mainly taught outside, but since it was getting cold, they took shelter in a nearby, outdoor, cabin. The cabin was incredibly spacious on the inside, the ceiling was high enough to fit a giant, and wide enough for a few magical creatures. Professor Kettleburn reserved this cabin for his class alone.

Ally, and everyone else who was taking the NEWTS for Care Of Magical Creatures, was sitting on the wood floor.

"Class!" he said quietly and the students continued talking

"Class!" he said a bit louder, and they continued chatting.

"CLASS!" he shouted and everyone stopped talking to stare at the professor, who was red in the face.

He cleared his throat and continued, barely audible.

'Today, Dumbledore has allowed us to host a few Diricawls." he pointed to a row of small cages next to him. The cages were filled with small birds, resembling ostriches, with such large beaks and bizarre colors that they looked rather comical. What was most odd about them was that they were all huddled in fear in the corner, as far away as possible from the students.

"As you can see, they are terribly afraid of us. Diricawls have an innate fear of wizards and muggles. Since a Diricawl can vanish in a poof of feathers at any moment, they are thought to be rare. For those of you who take Muggle Studies you would recognize them as the 'Dodo bird', thought to have gone extinct, but really just disappeared with a poof before any muggle caught sight of them. However, what is _truly_ unusual about Diricawls is that they allow a few select people to befriend them."

The class had taken to talking again after the mention of the 'Dodo bird'. Kettleburn cleared his throat.

"Class." he said quietly.

"Class!" he repeated.

"CLASS!" he roared. The students quieted down again and he continued quietly and calmly.

"The Diricawls we have right now are very young, only born last week. Children, as you know, are very impressionable. Now can anyone tell me about how Diricawls are impressionable?"

Lily's hand shot up before any else's.

"You might hurt someone one day..." Ally muttered to Lily, out of the corner of her mouth. Lily didn't even flinch, her eyes intent on the professor.

"Miss Evans." he said, as a matter of fact.

"Sir," Lily stated, "The Diricawls take upon them the personality of the people who raise it. Say, a loud person has a loud Diricawl and a quiet person has a quiet Diricawl."

"Excellent, ten points," Ally shot a superior look toward the marauders, who were clueless as to why she was looking at them oddly, "Like Miss Evans said, they take the personality of the person they are around the most. Also, the Diricawls imitates the words used often around them, catchphrases of a sort."

The class had begun chatting after learning that their Diricawls would be like them.

"Mine will most likely be crazy." Ally said.

"I hope mine's as smart as me."

"At least you don't have to worry about your bird being slow..."

The professor sighed.

"Class."

"Maybe I can teach it to read..."

"Class!"

"Do you think they can be taught games?"

"CLASS!" Professor Kettleburn shouted at the top of his lungs, he was panting slightly from the exertion.

"I assume you have all figured out that you will be given a Diricawl." he said quietly again, "The only problem is that, since the Diricawls are so difficult to catch. What with disappearing into thin air and all. Hagrid, the groundkeeper," He nodded over to a large man in the back, who smiled proudly and waved at the class, happy to be recognized, "has been only been able to catch about a few, a remarkable feat, as it were. You will be paired up."

The class groaned. _I hate having partners... maybe it'll be Lily._

"I will allow you to pair yourselves up." he said.

The class cheered.

"On **one** condition..."

The class groaned again. _It's always something... _Ally thought.

"Now, now," the professor smiled, "Don't be like that, I will give you five minutes to find a suitable partner, than you will come to me for my approval. If you have simply chosen a friend, I will have to break you up. Begin!"

He clapped his hands and everyone stood.

"Listen... Al..." Lily said.

"I totally understand if you want to ditch me, our personalities do clash a bit." Ally admitted to her.

"Oh, good," Lily said relieved, "I don't want a bad grade in this class..."

_Oh no, I can't possibly manage to find anyone here like me!_

"No, no! NO!" Professor Kettleburn shouted, "Enough magical creatures have been damaged by you two! Find someone else!"

_Wonder who that could be..._ Ally thought sarcastically in her head. _Wait a second... I'm even sarcastic in my thoughts... that is so crazy. _ She smiled happily to herself.

Ally wondered around the class, looking for someone to partner up with.

_Too irresponsible..._

_I hate blondes..._

_Ew, she is sooooooo mean._

_Grrr, I don't want a Slytherin!_

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and Ally turned around.

"Perfect!" Ally yelled and dragged Sirius over to the line, "I don't care if you don't want to be partners, you're the only one here that is crazy enough."

"Er—" Sirius said.

"No point in protesting, I've made up my mind!" Ally said and placed her hands on her hips. They moved forward in line a few steps. Then she thought of something.

"Hey," she pointed out, "Why aren't you with James?"

"You mean... you didn't hear Professor Kettleburn separate us?" Sirius said.

"That was you two?" Ally asked, moving forward.

"Yeah," he grinned, "We have a history of 'damaging' certain magical creatures."

"Sounds brutal..." Ally said.

"Yeah," he said shrugging his shoulders, "It's hard to live with the reputation."

"I was talking about those poor animals you have inflicted harm upon!"

"Oh."

They came to be first in line and Professor Kettleburn looked at the two. He sighed and pointed them over to a cage.

"Don't kill it." he said dully to Sirius.

Ally smiled and skipped to the cage, Sirius grinned and followed her. The Diricawl inside looked at the two fearfully.

Ally sat down next to the cage and Sirius followed suit. Soon, everyone was paired up with a person and a cage. Ally looked down the line. Lily was paired with one of the Hufflepuffs that had visited Ally in the hospital wing. Remus and Peter were together, and James was paired with the Ravenclaw chaser he probably knew from Quidditch.

"Class." he said.

"Class!" he repeated.

"CLASS!" he bellowed. The class stopped talking and turned their attention to Kettleburn.

"The most difficult part begins today, befriending the Diricawl. Your goal is to at the least familiarize yourself with it. If you do plan on taking it out, hold it tightly, it may disappear. If you do lose your grip, Hagrid," he pointed to the large man, who once again, waved and smiled, "will round it up for you. Losing the Diricawl will cost you your grade and house points."

As soon as he stopped talking, Ally threw the cage open excitedly, it attempted to run away, but Ally guarded the door and grabbed the Diricawl. It struggled for a while in her hands, but eventually gave up. Ally stroked the bird fondly once it calmed down.

"Didn't you hear his warning?" Sirius said "What if it had run away?" he patted the bird.

"Nonsense! I trust that Hagrid would have caught it." she said.

Hagrid, who had been walking by helping Kettleburn patrol around the class, heard this. His ears perked up and his chest puffed up in pride.

"Whatever," he said, looking down at the bird, which looked back up at him, now a bit curious...

"So..." he said, "About last night,"

Ally sighed. _You just have to say something... ruin my time with Spike... Ted... What do you name a bird?_

"The rest of the marauders want me to thank you... and all... for that." he said awkwardly, "We don't normally thank people... so this is a special honor."

"I'm sure you _never _thank people, I'll cherish the moment." Ally said and Sirius laughed, sounding like a bark, the laughter broke the awkward moment.

"Something still doesn't add up though..." he addedas 'Donald' waddled over to him. _Donald...Arnold... Leopold...What _do_ you name a bird? It can't even fly!_

"What doesn't add up?" Ally asked, watching over 'Chuck'.

"Well..." he said slowly, grinning, "How did you know that we ran into Peeves? McGonagall never mentioned it and neither did anyone else."

"Oh!—well—er..." Ally stumbled.

Sirius' grin grew as she stumbled over her words. Ally saw this and rolled her eyes. 'Paul' imitated her, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Well, how do _you _think I knew?"

"Well..." he said grinning and 'Benny' imitated his grin, stretching his face to its edges. _How can a bird grin?_ "I know, that you know, we were caught by Peeves, you know, that I know, that you and Lily know, we have an invisibility cloak. You know, that I know, that you and Lily were following us for some reason. I know, hat you know, we were running from you. And you know, that I know, that 'pig' is the codename for James."

'Cody' imitated what Sirius just said, repeating the words "you know that I know that" over and over again.

"Well," Ally said, thinking, "You know, that I know, that you were going to throw a party. You know, that I know, that you are in possession of a certain 'map'." Ally didn't really know whether they had a map or not, but she drew on what she heard last night, "I know, that you know, it would have been silly for me to spoil Lily's fun with James."

'Ferdinand' was wobbling between Ally and Sirius, saying 'Know you, I know map'.

Sirius smiled at her and then shushed the Diricawl, who seemed rather comfortable with Sirius and Ally.

"Let's agree to apologize, right now, for anything we may do in the future in James or Lily's name."

"Deal, and let's agree to forgive each other for anything we will do in the future."

"Agreed." Sirius said and stuck out his hand.

"Agreed." Ally said and shook his hand; 'Carl' jumped up and poked their hand with his beak saying 'Agree'.

"Well, this class will be the class we can talk about all the crazy things Lily and James do!" Ally said.

"Yeah," Sirius grinned, "Let's just hope they never catch us."

Class was soon over. Sirius and Ally packed up Donald, as Ally had decided on. Sirius didn't argue...because...well... Ally seemed set on Donald.

"It reminds me of that muggle duck character..." she had said.

"Donald Duck?"

She scoffed.

"Of course not! It's probably something more interesting... like Donny a la Duckinator."

Sirius rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. The Diricawl had taken to rolling his eyes, grinning, and poking them with his beak. Often saying things like "Foiled again!" and barking like a dog.

Soon after class ended and Hagrid rounded up the loose Diricawl, then he arranged the cages back into rows.

Ally said goodbye to Sirius and rejoined Lily. Lily was still talking to the Hufflepuff and Ally wandered around, growing bored. She exited the cabin. _I can catch up with her later... _and she wondered the grounds.

Soon she was near a large stone hut. _Wonder who that is... _ she was about to pass it by when something caught her eye.

In the clearing that held a pumpkin patch, a large Hippogriff stood. It was munching on a small rabbit. It had silver feathers and a golden head. Ally looked at it cautiously and then remembered what her Care of Magical Creatures teacher had told her in France. She stepped forward and bowed low.

The hippogriff looked her over once or twice then it bowed back and turned its attention back to eating. Ally looked around, no one was around. She dropped her bag off and swung her legs over the small white fence that guarded the pumpkin patch.

"Hi." she said softly, trying not to alarm the large animal.

It looked up again, surprised to see her so close. She held out her hand and it bent its head. She reached forward and nuzzled its beak.

"'ello," someone said.

Ally jumped and whirled around. She could've fainted she was so frightened. She looked up at the towering figure before her.

"Er—sorry 'bout that." Hagrid said. "Didn' mean ter scare yeh." he said.

"Oh," Ally replied, "I'm sorry, you took me by surprise!" she smiled at him, "I'm Ally!"

She held out her tiny hand and he took it into his enormous one.

"Rubeus Hagrid!" he said happily, "See yeh like hippogriffs?" he said.

"Yes! This one is gorgeous." she replied and they both turned to gaze at the hippogriff.

"'Is name is Phillip!" Hagrid said proudly, "Found 'im meself!"

"That's a nice name." Ally said.

There was a moment silence between the two. The only noise was the hippogriff chewing on its dinner and the birds. Ally could faintly hear the rest of the Care of Magical Creatures class heading up to the castle. Finally, Hagrid broke the silence.

"So...er—do yer really trust me?" he said sheepishly. Ally looked over to him and smiled at how shy he was, even though he was so large.

"Of course Hagrid, everyone speaks very fondly of you. My friends think you're a sweetheart. And besides, you seem to get along very well with all the animals. It's amazing that you caught all those Diricawls."

Hagrid smiled to himself, blushing.

"Thank yeh,' he said.

"No problem... well," she said, pulling out her wand to check the time. "I've got to get to class!"

"Yeah... bye." Hagrid said, looking out at the black lake.

"See you next time Hagrid!" she said and waved as she ran up the steps to Hogwarts.

He smiled and waved back, watching her figure disappear into the castle.

Ally dropped off her bag in the common room and exited the portrait hole. She ran down the steps leading to the great hall. _I wonder what Lily thinks about Hagrid..._ She entered the great hall a few minutes later for dinner, thinking about the groundkeeper.

_Why does he carry around that umbrella? Does he have a wand? Did he go to Hogwarts once? I wonder why he's so tall..._

She sat down in her usual seat, between Lily and Sirius. Lily looked at her and mouthed 'What's up?' Ally shook her head and began to load her plate. She ate in silence, something very uncharacteristic of her. Normally she would be talking and laughing. For some reason she was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't bother talking to anyone else.

_Oh no, _she thought to herself, looking up at McGonagall at the teachers table. _I still have that detention with the marauders... I wonder what kind of detention she hands out... _She stopped eating, felling a bit sick. _I never got in trouble with teachers when I was at Beauxbatons. What if I get a reputation? What if the teachers end up hating me, and they fail me because I'm a troublemaker?_

Lily looked at her curiously.

"What's up with you, Al?" she said.

"Nothing," she said, still looking at McGonagall, who was talking to Dumbledore.

"You haven't spoken all dinner," Sirius said.

"I haven't?" she asked, "Well, that's weird; I guess I'm just nervous about detention..."

"Don't worry!" Sirius grinned, "I'm sure that McGonagall will go easy on you, being new and all. The marauders on the other hand..."

"Right... I'm being silly." Ally said, "Do you know when it is?"

"Tonight..." Remus said, he wasn't looking well, Ally noted.

"Remus..."

"Later, later." he said, meeting her gaze.

"Right..." she said, "Meet you after dinner," she said.

Sirius looked at the exchange between the two.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

"You have no appreciation for the cryptic arts..." Ally responded, earning a smile from Remus. The hall fell silent. Ally looked over at Dumbledore, slightly confused because it was very unusual for dinner to be interrupted for anything.

"Student, students..." Dumbledore said. The headmaster stood at the head table.

"I have an announcement to make!"

**(A/N Man cliffhangers are foooooooooon. I'm having the time of my life! Sorry this came in so late. I had a performance for my string quartet. GO CELLISTS! Yo Yo Ma ish my homie... Wait! Why should I apologize... it's only been a week or so!)**


	13. Chapter 13 Detention and Riddles

**(A/N A review, for those who missed the cliff. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha! Ok seriously... I won't do it again sheepish grin it's just so fun! Thanks to all the reviews... You guys rock! Please, if you find anything is not adding up... tell me... I think I got lost in my own plot line.)**

**Disclaimer: Owning Harry Potter would be fun... he would be a brunette... but sadly, all I own is the OC and the plot... T.T **

_Review..._

_"Tonight..." Remus said, he wasn't looking well, Ally noted._

_"Remus..."_

_"Later, later." he said, meeting her gaze._

"_Right..." she said, "Meet you after dinner," she said._

_Sirius looked at the exchange between the two._

"_Did I miss something?" he asked._

"_You have no appreciation for the cryptic arts..." Ally responded, earning a smile from Remus. The hall fell silent. Ally looked over at Dumbledore, slightly confused because it was very unusual for dinner to be interrupted for anything._

"_Student, students..." Dumbledore said. The headmaster stood at the head table._

"_I have an announcement to make!"_

Chapter 13 Detention and Riddles

The great hall waited patiently for Dumbledore to continue. He lowered his hands and addressed them seriously, the twinkle in his eyes dying down to a dangerous glint.

"I trust you all have heard about the events of the past week." he said.

Many heads and eyes turned to look at Ally and her friends in the center of Gryffindor table. Lily blushed, and Ally sunk down in her chair, wishing to disappear. James and Sirius grinned madly and waved at everyone.

"The ministry wishes for me to assure that the past events at Bonham hall were merely an accident. A cruel joke by teenagers... taken too far." His eyes narrowed, "However, the ministry, unfortunately, does not have a final say on how this school is run. I, as headmaster, think that is in your best interest to be informed of exactly who was behind these attacks."  
He paused for a moment. _Sure... add to the tension... Hi, I'm Dumbledore! I like cliffhangers!_

**(A/N I'm sure many of my reviewers like to think that of me... In fact... all of them do!)**

Students craned their necks to get a better view of Dumbledore. Some of the Slytherins were also trying to get a better look at Dumbledore, the other half of Slytherin house was sitting calmly, expecting the next proclamation. Ally scowled at them and turned back to Dumbledore.

"A new group of dark wizards have risen outside the Ministry of Magic. This new group consists of one leader and a group of followers named Death Eaters." The hall was deadly silent, not one breath could be heard and Ally gripped the table tightly, "It saddens me deeply to have to inform you that have very harsh beliefs. They discriminate against all muggles, muggleborns, half bloods, and blood traitors, anything less than, as they would say, _pure_blood."

Dumbledore looked at the Gryffindor table when he said this, pointedly at Sirius behind her. Ally glanced back at the Slytherin table, her hand turned to a fist as she saw a few of the older students smirking.

"It is my duty to warn you, my students, of associating with Death Eaters. Please, if you have any contact with them, it could be dangerous to your loved ones, friends, and your life. If you do come into contact with them, or their lord, please inform the ministry, teaching staff, or me _immediately_. Most importantly..."

He folded his hand, any light in his eyes faded to darkness and Ally swore he was addressing the Slytherin table, even though he did not look or incline his head toward them, "If you ever, and I mean _ever,_ in any form come across the symbol of a serpent coiled around a skull, you are to report it to me as soon as possible. Do not approach any person or thing that bares this mark, especially a person. The mark is a sure sign of their allegiance to their master... Lord Voldemort."

A shudder went throughout the hall, like the entire student body was afraid Voldemort was going to show up with a bouquet of flowers and knock on the door any moment now. Lily went deathly pale, and not even the Marauders dared to crack a joke at that moment. Dumbledore's eyes began to revive that old twinkle again.

"Although..." he smiled softly at the crowd in front of him, "All one needs to do, to survive such hard times, is to band together. All the houses," he scanned all the tables, "must put aside our old grudges, and unite under one banner." he nodded toward the Hogwarts seal above them.

_I can just see a Gryffindor and Slytherin playing Yahtzee._

"On a lighter note," Dumbledore said, "As of today, two new students have joined our numbers." He held out his arm toward the Ravenclaw table, "Samantha and Toby Howell, will you please stand up."

Ally recognized the dirty blonde and her younger brother from outside Dumbledore's office. They stood up for a moment, then quickly sat down, embarrassed. Ally got a good look at her; she now wore Ravenclaw robes, along with her brother.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled happily.

"Samantha will be joining us for her sixth year, while her younger brother will be going into his second. They have both been sorted into Ravenclaw."

The Ravenclaw table cheered, and the rest of the hall clapped politely.

"And now, I am afraid I have kept you far too long. Dinner is over." he concluded and sat down. Shouts of approval came from behind her and Ally turned and she saw half of the school file sleepily of the hall. Lily sat across her, absorbed in a book, making no move to get up, and Ally doubted she was paying attention to anything else but the page in front of her.

_It must be late... but Dumbledore had a lot of important things to say, especially to the Slytherins. _Ally thought to herself. She checked to make sure Remus wasn't with the other students, who were crowding the entrance way. Then looked around, he was speaking with McGonagall. _Maybe I should wait, he said after dinner..._

She sat back down and watched Remus speaking to McGonagall. She looked tense, then patted him on the shoulder and nodded. He relaxed a bit and they continued talking. Ally felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She spun around.

"Sam!" she said, "Sorted into Ravenclaw? That's a respectable house." Ally said.

"Yeah," she sat down, "They're a bit obsessed with homework, but then again, so am I." she smiled and looked at Lily.

"Read much?" she said.

"Meh..."

"Translated, she's ecstatic to meet you. What did the hat say?"

"The hat?" Sam asked, then realization dawned on her face, "Oh yeah! Why couldn't you guys tell us about the hat, I thought we would have to do something dangerous, like an obstacle course."

"It's a general rule by older students; never tell the new students how they're being sorted. Sorry."

"It's okay. I understand." Sam said and then looked away, "Someone's heading this way..." she pointed behind Ally.

Sam was right; Remus had finished speaking with McGonagall and had walked back to the table, he sat down next to Lily.

Remus looked nervously from Lily to Ally, then at Sam and back to Ally.

"Oh!" Ally exclaimed, "Sam," she introduced, "This is Remus Lupin, Remus, this is Sam Howell."

"Hi!" Sam said cheerfully and extended his hand.

"H-hello." Remus said as he took her hand and blushed.

_Ooooo this is interesting... _Ally grinned mischievously at them both.

"Sorry Sam," Ally said, fighting back a grin, "But Remus and I need to speak privately for a moment."

"Oh," she looked disappointed, "Okay,"

"Don't be insulted!" Ally said hurriedly, "It's a Gryffindor thing... no other houses involved! Besides... you should be getting to bed soon, you have your first classes tomorrow!"

"That's right!" she said, a bit more cheered up, "I should be getting to bed. Good night!" she said to them and waved as she walked away.

"Bye!"

"Meh."

"N-night."

"Right," Ally said, once Sam was out of earshot, "What is it? Is it..." she trailed off, leaving the question unfinished.

"Er—well," he leaned closer and whispered, "Tonight is the full moon." he said quickly and the leaned back.

"So... what did McGonagall say...?" Ally asked.

"She said it was alright for me to serve my detention another," he paused, "More appropriate time."

"That's it? So you get out of detention for now?"

"Well..." he said, "She also said that I could ask you to join me... She wouldn't let me ask James, Peter, or Sirius because we're too much like a bunch of troublemakers together."

"I'LL GO!" Ally jumped up and hugged Remus, "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and THANK YOU!"

Ally pulled Lily out of the hall.

"Meh?" she said, still reading as they were walking.

Once they had gotten to the common room, Ally pulled the book out of Lily's hands and sat her down on the couch.

"Huh?" Lily said, confused.

"I don't have detention tonight!" Ally shouted, attracting the attention of several fifth years. She jumped up and down on her armchair.

"What!" Lily said, "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah," Ally stopped jumping and sat down, "The entire conversation Remus and I had! I don't have detention tonight!"

"Do you really think it's a good idea to put it off? I mean, you said yourself you were dreading detention." Lily said

"You have no respect for the procrastinating arts..." Ally said., "Besides, I was the only one Remus would be able to serve detention with, McGonagall wouldn't let him go with any of the other marauders, they're untrustworthy together! If I said no, then Remus would be serving detention alone, and all because of—"

"AL!" Lily said and looked warily around the common room, the fifth years were engrossed in a dumb conversation about some new band, and a few older students were up studying. No one noticed the two.

"Er—" she said, "Because of You-Know-What."

"Great," Lily said, "More stupid nicknames..."

"Yeah," Ally said sullenly, remembering Dumbledore's announcement, "So what do you think about... You-Know-Who... or whatever they're calling him these days."

Lily opened her mouth to respond, when the Marauders rushed down the staircase.

"Al!" Sirius shouted, "McGonagall wants us!"

"Sorry!" Ally said, "_I _happen to have gotten a reprieve!"

"What!" Sirius and Peter shouted.

"That's not fair! Why?" James said.

"For her own reasons Potter." Lily butted in before Ally responded. Lily pointedly shot her a look as if to say, _we don't know if they know about Remus, even if they are his friends..._

Ally closed her mouth and nodded.

"No reason to be so cold. _Darling_." James winked at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well, go on." Ally said, "You're going to be late. Did McGonagall tell you what you were going to do?"

"Oh..." James said, "We were going to serve in the Forbidden forest..."

"The Forbidden forest?" Lily replied, skeptically, and raised her eyebrows at him.

James shuffled his feet under her scrutinizing gaze, and then he straightened up.

"Yeah," he nodded, "That's right, Hagrid needs some help, a Thestral got lose."

"Those things that pull the carriages?" Ally said quickly, wanting to disrupt the tension in between Lily and James, "Aren't they invisible? How're you supposed to find them?

"Hagrid's probably got some method..." Peter muttered.

"Yeah," Sirius said, "What Wormtail said."

"Why do you insist on calling each other those stupid names?" Lily said.

"Forget it." Ally said quickly, hoping to prevent a shouting match, "You guys should get going..."

"We got to wait for _Moony_." James said, emphasizing his friend's nickname.

"Oh," Ally said, "He's not feeling well, that's why I got a break. We're going to serve detention together later... when he's feeling better."

James, Sirius, and Peter all shot each other a look and then said their goodbyes. They rushed out of the common room, running late for their detention.

Lily sighed.

"Getting back to what we were talking about... It seems as if the situation with You-Know-Who keeps getting worse. The ministry, as always, is trying to cover it all up, passing it all off as teenagers, playing games. Or they're saying some of the things that have been having, were just sad accidents."

"That's sick! How do they think they're going to fight them if they can't even admit they exist?"

"I know! And the worse part is, the Death Eaters are involving muggles! They attack them in broad daylight. Mum has mailed me, she's noticed that there have been a lot of weird gas explosions and car crashes that no one can figure out. If my mum has caught on, then other people must have too. What happens if the muggles find out about our world?'"

"I don't know... Maybe you should mail your mum. Tell what's happening, and then maybe she can convince your neighbors nothing is happening."

"Maybe..." they sat there in silence for a long while. Eventually they stood and went to bed, still thinking over all that had transpired.

Over the next tow weeks, Remus was in the Hospital wing. Ally was the first there, hading him barrels of candy. Remus thought it was humorous. She had asked him where the rest of the Marauders were. He said they were probably tired from detention. He had had other visitors too; Lily had come up and helped him with his History of Magic homework, while Ally reenacted the Goblin Wars, using her wand as a sword, while she read.

The rest of the student body was in an uproar about You-Know-Who. Most of the students kept by their parent's ideals, claiming that the Ministry was right, that it was just a bunch of hooligans who got out of control. Ally just got madder and madder as she read what the daily prophet was typing. Lily agreed with her, the Prophet would side with the Ministry on everything.

Classes continued as usual. A couple students were sent to the Hospital wing though, since a Fanged Geranium somehow got out of its pot during Herbology and was hopping around biting Professor Sprout's third period class. Only one other accident occurred during classes, a hover charm went awry and the entire class ended up on the ceiling, not having a clue what to do.

Ally was growing anxious again, her detention slowly coming closer and closer, as Remus got out of the Hospital wing, their detention was scheduled for Friday. Ally was careful not to show how nervous she was, she didn't want Lily saying that she told her so. Even though she was little jumpy, Ally still found it funny how often Remus would glance at a certain Ravenclaw when in the Library. What was even more hilarious was when Sam would look back at him, just as he turned away. Once, Ally had to be thrown out by Madam Prince, for raucous laughing.

Eventually Friday came. Ally had finished her homework and said goodbye to her friends. She exited the common room and met up with Remus in the hall.

"Hey!" she said, turning the corner, and running into her friend.

"Hey," he replied, Ally noted that he looked in much better health. He looked, all in all, better taken care of, and he looked much more alert. There was also more color in his cheeks.

"Do you remember where McGonagall said to meet?" Ally asked as they continued down the hall.

"You forgot already!" Remus said.

"Hey!" Ally said, "I remember things! The only stuff I have trouble remembering is people, places, objects and events! Oh, and assignments." she said.

"Well," Remus laughed, "We're supposed to meet in the trophy room."

"The trophy room! I knew it!" Ally exclaimed, snapping her hands.

"Knew what?" Remus said they passed a large line of suits of armor.

"She obviously wants us to battle the secret trophy army! Dumbledore created it to battle You-Know-Who and the Ministry found out! That's why she wants us to destroy it! Any other students would die at the hands of the evil trophy army! But not us, we are the superior one's of our age, in magic. We must defeat the king trophy so Dumbledore won't be overthrown by the Minister!"

"I'm sure you would love to think that..." McGonagall interrupted as they turned the corner and were face to face with the doors to the trophy room.

"Unfortunately, you will not be doing _any_ magic at all. Hand over your wands."

Remus handed over his Ash wand and Ally handed over hers.

**(A/N Ash... because a part of JK Rowling's site has a wand assignment table based on the Celtic year. it's pretty cool! Ally's will be part of my imagination.)**

Ally handed over her hazel wand; she was a bit saddened to part with it. It had a beautiful white handle and had an imp and Vily hair. Vily was a kind of fairy, the wand maker had told her when she bought it.

"Good," she said, placing them in her robe pockets, "For detention you will be polishing the trophies, _without magic._" she gestured over to where a bucket and two brushes lay. "Filch will be around to check on you, at nine o' clock I will come to get you. If it seems to me you have not sufficiently polished the trophies an additional detention will be tacked to your records. Though, I doubt I will have that problem with you two." she gave them a flicker of a smile and then marched away.

"Well," Ally picked up her brush and Remus took the other and the bucket, "Better get started. Personally, I don't want another detention, one is nerve racking enough."

"Yeah," Remus agreed and he pushed open the trophy room door. In the room were several large crystal displays. The shelves were stacked with plaques, statues, awards, shields, and other assorted trophies.

Ally groaned.

"This will take _forever!_ Surely McGonagall doesn't expect us to do all of _this._" She gestured to the lines of awards.

"Well... she expects us to at least make an effort." Remus said quietly.

"I hate making an effort!" Ally whined and sat down next to a rather large trophy, dunking her brush in the bucket, she began to wash away the dirt and dust that had accumulated over the years.

And hour passed and Ally and Remus were making significant progress. They busied themselves by talking about things, mainly classes. Sometimes the conversation would turn down a dark road, toward Voldemort, and Ally wisely steered it back toward how dumb Hufflepuffs can be at times.

Halfway through their punishment Ally threw down her brush and sat cross legged on the floor center.

"Let's take a break. I might go insane if I don't get one."

"I agree. It's getting a bit annoying to keep reading about how accomplished these people are."  
"Yeah, especially that prick... Tom Riddle."

"You got him too?" Remus asked.

"Yeah! He has like fifteen million trophies! Or at least half of the trophies in this room."

She waved her hand toward the cases and the name TOM RIDDLE glittered back at them.

"He was probably a huge suck up. A Ravenclaw, he seems like one of them."

"No," Remus said and pointed toward a plaque. "He was a Slytherin."

"He was a what?" Ally said and looked at the plaque he was pointing to.

**TOM RIDDLE**

**SLYTHERIN**

**FOR OUTSTANDING **

**ACHIEVEMENTS ON ALL O.W.L.S**

"Wow," Ally said, "Looks like Slytherins aren't all thick."

"It is the house of the ambitious. I wonder what he's doing now." Remus furrowed his brow in thought

"Yeah, he probably worked for the ministry... now he's rich and retired, lucky bloke."

"Probably, I've never heard of him though, and how do figure he's retired now?"

Ally pointed over to the awards she had been polishing.

"All of the one's I had to shine had dates on them. He was alive around the nineteen forty's, when Grindelwald was defeated. He'd be nearing fifty now."

"Guess so, It's weird though... that we've never heard of this guy, and he has all of these awards. Do you think he died?" Remus looked at the large trophy awarded to Tom Riddle for special services to the school.

"Well..." Ally looked around, "He won awards all through his years at Hogwarts, from his first year, to his seventh. I think he graduated. Maybe he moved."

"Someone who did all of this work for Hogwarts? To just up and leave?" Remus said, "That sounds a bit off, he obviously cared a lot about the school. If I was him, I would want to become a teacher."

"Would he want to become a teacher... or would _you _want to become a teacher." Ally smiled at him and he blushed.

"Maybe that's just me..." he muttered, "You agree though? About how suspicious it is."

"I agree, it is suspicious," she said. "I don't think he died though, look at the DADA awards he's gotten. I don't think anything could get to our Tommy-boy." she joked.

"Yeah," he mused, "Probably some dark arts genius..."

Ally and Remus shared a glance. After all that had happened lately, mentioning the dark arts was not something you did lightly.

"You don't think...maybe... he turned dark?"

"No!" Remus shook his head, "Guy like him? I think he retired... like you said."

"Oh..." Ally said, "Because I was going to say, if this guy turned dark... we'd be in a lot of trouble."

"You're already in a lot of trouble..." came a slimy voice from the entry way.

There stood Filch in the doorway, holding up his lantern. _Pointless, honestly the room is already lit up._ Mrs. Norris was behind him, Ally winked at the cat and then turned her attention back to Filch.

"—McGonagall said. Now get back to work! These trophies are to be spic and span by the time the professor comes."

Ally and Remus turned back to their work. The rest of the night they continued to talk, oftentimes about this mysterious character "Riddle". Eventually nine o'clock chimed and Ally put her brush away. Remus followed her lead and they waited for McGonagall to dismiss them.

Later they were back in the common room. Ally was talking to Lily about the detention and Remus was watching a game of chess between James and Sirius.

"So, how'd it go?" Lily said, putting down her book.

"Not bad... All we had to do was clean the trophy room; it wasn't that horrible, since we both had company, we talked during most of it."

"Anything interesting happen?"

"Nah... just a bunch of stuff about some guy named Tom Riddle."

"Who?"

Ally told Lily about the conversation Remus and she had had. She emphasized the part about his disappearance from wizarding society.

"That does sound fishy... But what are you going to do about it? The guy probably retired... like you said."

"I know... I just wanted to find out what happened to him! Do you think Dumbledore knows?"

"I don't think you should ask him, Al." she cautioned, "He has a lot to worry about now, not some Riddle guy who won a bunch of awards."

**(A/N Pun! Okay... not really...XD)**

"I guess, but Dumbledore used to be a transfiguration professor, didn't he? That's what I heard. He must have been teaching here at the time Riddle was in school."

"When was he here again?"

"Nineteen forty's! I already told you!" Ally cried, exasperated.

"Okay, okay..." Lily pursed her lips in thought, "Dumbledore was teaching then, and he probably did know him. But I don't think he remembers _every, single student who came to school_. Isn't there anyone else you could ask?" Lily rolled her eyes, "Why don't you just go to the Library? I'm sure they would have something there."

"Is that your solution to everything? Look it up in the Library?"

"Yeah," Lily nodded, "Basically..."

Ally threw up her hands and collapsed onto the couch.

"I guess we're going to the Library..."

The Next Week...

"Nothing..." Ally slammed her fist on their center table of the library, "There is not one bloody piece of information on Tom Riddle! Nothing!"

"Why do you need to know anyways? Remus seems to have gotten over it." Lily pointed to Remus sitting across from them; he had his head in his hand and was drooling over Sam a few tables away, completely disregarding his charms essay due the next day.

"That's because he's infatuated with a girl!" Ally cried.

Madam Pince shouted a few words about throwing her out of the library and shook her feather duster at her. Ally quieted down to a whisper and sunk into her seat.

"What am I supposed to do? I _have_ to find out what happened to this guy! It's driving me insane!"

"Are you sure you checked every book? Did you look through the index cards over their?" she put down her essay and quill and pointed to the left wall, where the index was.

"Yes! I'm not thick I looked it over a thousand times! What am I supposed to do Lil?"

"I don't know..." Lily said and turned back to her books.

"Come on, Lil!" Ally took her books away from her, Lily fought to get them back, but Ally had already stashed them in her book bag, "I need some help."

"Mental help!" Lily said and reached for her books.

"Hey! That's not nice," Ally pouted and pushed the bag farther away from Lily's grasp.

"Come on... If you help me I'll... I'll... try to be smarter!"

"I thought you hated making an effort."

"But I would do it for you." Ally said pointedly.

"Oh forget it!" Lily said, "I'll help you either way, you don't have to do anything..."

"Well..." Ally gave the book bag to Lily and she grabbed the books possessively, "Now what did you have in mind..."

"Well, if you're sure you've looked through everything... then—"

"Then, what?" Ally said impatiently.

"Then... the only place you haven't looked is in the restricted section."

"Are you serious?" Ally said, "How will we ever get permission to look for Tom Riddle, we don't even know what we're looking for."

"Well... we don't exactly have to _get_ permission..."

"What do you mean? Like sneak in?"

"Shhhh!" Lily shushed her and looked around, Remus was still drooling and the rest of the Library was absorbed in their work.

"Well, you really want to get information on this Riddle guy, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then it's the only way! You've checked the rest of the library, the only place that could have anything on him would be the restricted section."

"Right, but how... and when?"

"Listen... Christmas break is coming soon right?"

"In a month or so..." Ally said skeptically.

"Then the best time to do it is then... That way, there are only a few people around. Are you staying over the holidays?"

"Yeah, my mum said it was cool, they were thinking about going on vacation anyways."

"Alright, I'm staying over too. McGonagall asked me to patrol the halls and do other prefect duties, for extra credit. My parents were alright with it. Besides..." she wrinkled her nose, "I don't feel up to facing Petunia yet... She's such a...a..."

"Muggle?"

"Well... yeah." Lily sighed. "She can be so self absorbed sometimes... all she cares about is her boyfriend... Vincent or Vance or Vic... I think he's a bad influence."

"One of those guys who think women should cook and clean."

"Yeah... One of them."

"Sounds awkward."

"He disdains me, just like Petunia does. When he first met me he refused to even shake my hand, like I was dirt. And Petunia absolutely adores him. You should hear her go on and on about him..."

"I'm sensing a disturbance in the force!"

"Right." Lily said.

"It's from... never mind."

"I know where it's from."

"Alrighty then!" Ally said, "We'll work out the details over break. Until then... What do we do?"

"Homework."

"I hate making an effort...


	14. Chapter 14 Potions and The Suit of Armor

**(Thank you to anyone who reviewed. This chapter has to have been the most fun to write... for me at least. It gave me a chance to experiment with characters. Next chapter will be fun for me too! And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Snape... My sister asked me when he was going to pop up... I told her that I was planning to work him in after Christmas... But... who knows? Often times these things work out themselves. Special thanks to **Dweizlegirl **for being so cool.)**

Chapter 14 Potions and The Suit of Armor

November passed into December. Hogwarts first snow blizzard cam and students bundled up to fight against the cold. Most of the time, Gryffindors could be seen huddling around the common room fire.

Hogsmeade came and went. Ally collected several bags of candy from Honeydukes and bought a deck of self-shuffling cards from Zonkos and a fake wand. Lily didn't buy anything except a few chocolate balls. Pria bought a foe glass and Carla bought a spell checking quill that the group borrowed quite often for homework, save for Lily.

Ally and Lily still went to the library everyday. Lily went to do her homework and study and Ally went to look through the mass amount of books for anything on Tom Riddle. Despite her efforts, she never found anything.

Soon, Ally wasn't able to look for Riddle in the library; teachers were piling more homework on as Christmas break grew closer and closer. Ally and Lily were too caught up in essays to bother researching.

Potions Class...

"Today class, we are going to be making the Befuddlement Draught. The instructions are on the board. Begin."

Professor Slughorn spun the board around and instructions appeared in tiny slanted writing.

_Add significant amount of scurvy grass to potion set at medium flames_

_Crush tubeworms using copper plate, scrape into left side of cauldron._

_Stir counterclockwise until the potion turns clear as water._

_Stir clockwise seven times; add peeled shrivelfigs while stirring counterclockwise._

_Peel—_

"Briggs! Ugh! Honestly!" Ally shouted at him, "Did you have to spill that all over my textbook!"

"S-Sorry, Al." her lab partner stuttered.

Ally clenched her fist but didn't say anything as her partner returned to his potion. She took her book and shook it out over the side of the desk. Looking at the page she noticed that some of the ink was running and at some parts it was blotched too much to read.

Ally sighed and shot her desk partner a murderous look before returning to her potion.

_**5) P**eel** the ---–te**nt**acl-s **ad**d---**clockwis**e sev—n ti**m**es st**i**r –lilac b**lu**e smoke-**_

_6)**Skin** the **–-- off **of** so**p**hr----- jui**ce **u**si**ng--- ver da**gg**er **and let** sit---- sev**entee**n sec**on**ds stir**--**-**v**er---fla**me**s on **hig**h—clo**ck**wise.**_

_**7) Ch**op **b**l**ue –**we**ed a**n**d ----**sever off** the re**ma**—ng **top of** scur-y gr—s, stir ----**clock**wi**se and** let **sit--**-n—**tee**n se**con**ds u**n**til --------s**mo**ke vital f**inish**ing st**a**ge.**_

_8)** P**ic**k o**u**t the ----tu**be**r **pus a**nd **smo**ke ou—**any rem**---in**g** sop**hr**o—s ju**ic**-- –he-----s**ho**u—be t**heco**lor l**i**me g**re—n._

Ally quickly finished up her potion after re-reading the directions over and over again, trying to figure out what the book said. Her potion was now a dark green. She looked over at the other potions in the class, all emitting a light green smoke.

_Okay...mine's slightly off... at least it isn't as bad as Briggs. _She glanced over at him and could see his potion was bubbling dangerously and was pitch black. _I don't even want to know what those specks are... _She bottled up a sample of her potion and ran to the front desk to place it on Slughorn's desk... just as the bell rang.

"George Briggs what in the world is the matter with your—"

_Too late..._Ally thought morbidly as the potion exploded, covering George entirely. His skin turned a dark purple and he was waving his arms around madly.

"I can't see! I can't see!" he shouted.

"Boy! BOY! Shut up already! Class, dismiss yourselves!" He shouted over the boy's wailing.

"Miss Pierce! Miss Evans! Please clean up this mess while I escort Mr. Briggs to the hospital wing."

He left the classroom after the students quickly filed out, wanting to get away from the rapidly spreading black ooze.

"Great!" Ally cried out, "First he ruins my textbook and now he makes me clean up after him! Ugh! I can't stand that guy!"

She flicked her wand at the back desks and they immediately began to organize themselves.

"It's not his fault..." Lily said while scourgifying the spreading black potion, "He just has really bad luck.

Ally went around the classroom and was using her wand to make the remaining potion disappear.

"I know... I just wish he didn't..." Ally said, "Hey, do you know where he keeps these old books?" She held up her soggy potions book.

"Over there," Lily pointed to a bettered old cabinet, "There's a whole pile of them." She turned back to arranging the ingredients on the shelves.

"Thanks," Ally opened the cabinet, "I'll just exchange this thing," she held up her copy, "For something half way decent."

She shuffled through the books until she found the best available copy. Then replacing it with her wet one, she stuffed the book in her bag and returned to emptying the cauldrons. Soon she came across her dark green one.

Somewhere to her left something let off a BANG!

"Sorry," Lily said sheepishly.

Ally still jumped in surprise and crashed into the cauldron in back of her. The cauldron spilt over the floor and Ally jumped onto the desk to avoid getting caught in it.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked as her friend stood up on the desk.

Ally paid her no attention and started to inch away from the edge. Unfortunately for her she knocked over a vat full of dead black beetles into her potion. The dark green potion turned clear white in an instance and began to let off a dark purple smoke.

"What did you do?" Lily said, annoyed, and she pulled out her wand.

Ally jumped down from the desk onto the floor, accidentally landing in the potion she previously knocked over.

Purple smoke filled the room. Ally cried out but she couldn't hear anything. She tried to find Lily but the smoke was too thick. Black spots appeared in her vision and filled up her eyes and soon she couldn't see anything. Eventually she heard Lily fall next to her and in a few seconds she was unconscious also.

Ally's Dream...

_Ally was in a hall... the great hall. She knew it was the great hall because of the candles, floating around just above her head. But that was the problem. They were just above _her_ head. Everyone else was taller than her, so the candles began to hit them in the head._

_Everyone was yelling at her to go and for Hagrid to come in. Hagrid was standing at the entrance to the hall, and there was a crowd yelling at him to come in. Ally ducked and ran past everyone toward the back of the halls; she exited the hall through one of the back doors. For some reason the world was turned black and white as she was running through the halls. Tom Riddle was following her, he was shouting at her._

_"Stop running!"_

_"I can't! The candles will hit you!"_

_She continued to run through the halls as fast as her feet could carry her. Tom caught up to her and pulled her around. He pushed her into the hall and before she could turn around she was on a collision course with the Hogwarts Express._

_She jumped back onto the platform in Hogsmeade just before the train hit her. Looking around she wondered why it wasn't snowing. The train stopped and out came a hundred students... except they had all forgotten to put on their Hogwarts robes._

_They were milling around and Ally got lost in the crowd. She was shoved and pushed around for a long time; everyone seemed to be taller than her. She pushed everyone away and was almost blinded as a light hit her face._

_"Firs' years! Firs' Years...!"_

_"Hagrid!" Ally yelled and ran for him. Except by the time she got to him, he was already in the boats. Unfortunately, Ally couldn't stop from momentum and fell into the lake. She drifted down into the water and saw a figure at the bottom. _

_The figure was large, very large. Suddenly it disappeared into an underwater corridor, Ally swum as fast as she could and found herself in the corridor. She was walking down the hallway; somehow she had gotten out of the Black Lake, and heard a scream. She ran toward the Gryffindor common room, but when she got there it was too late._

_Death Eaters stood around in a circle and Pria was standing in the middle. She was trying to talk to the Death Eaters but they only spoke troll._

_"Why don't you try to stun them!" Ally called out._

_Pria didn't respond, she ran up the astronomy tower which was somehow relocated to the Gryffindor Common Room. Ally followed her in hot pursuit. There was a red light in front of them and they both froze. Lily appeared next to Ally._

_"Al, run into the room next to you!"_

_Ally threw open the door that appeared next to her and Pria, Ally and Lily ran into the empty trophy room._

_"Why is it so dusty in here?" Lily asked._

_"I don't know. We still have to serve detention Ally." Remus appeared out of the dust. He was covered in the dust himself. His hair was very silky silver and he shook himself off._

_"Still?" Ally said, "Can't we ask McGonagall to give us a little while longer? Just pretend you're still sick."_

_"Yeah, Moony!" Sirius appeared behind her, "That's a good idea, you faint and it'll give us an excuse to get out of Charms class."_

_"We should save it until morning." James apparated into the room._

_"You can't apparate!" Ally said, "It's illegal, the ministry will catch you!"_

_"No they won't." Peter said, "The ministry is having an interview with the Prophet right now."_

_"All of them?"_

_"Yep. We can get away with just about anything!" He smiled maniacally and held up his wand._

_"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted._

_Green Light filled the room and Ally screamed and shut her eyes. She opened her eyes and everyone was staring at her._

_"What's the matter Al?" Lily asked, "It was just a spider! We should be thanking Peter for killing it!"_

_A huge celebration came out of no where and Peter was hoisted on everyone shoulders. They bounced him up and down and soon the entire Divination tower was full of celebrating students and teachers._

_"Long Live Peter!" a shout arose._

_"Are you all crazy!" Ally shouted, "He killed that spider!"_

_"No he didn't!" Tom Riddle said, "I killed the spider! See?" he hoisted the giant trophy onto the table and showed everyone. The words FOR SPECIAL SERVICES TO THE SCHOOL were emblazoned on the front._

_"Tom is right." Hagrid said, for some reason he was crying, "The spider's dead..."_

_A shout rose up and everyone in the party looked out the window._

_"The Dark Mark!" Cornelius Fudge, assistant to the Minister of Magic, shouted and pointed. "The Dark Mark! No one move! We must tell Dumbledore!"_

_Briggs, who was stirring the punch and trying to fix his potion, ran from the room to get Dumbledore, tripping on the way out. Everyone was silent, not one person moved. The room went deathly cold and the Death Eaters swept in._

_Since no one was able to move, they killed off each person one by one and finally rounded up a select group._

_Ally was one of the few people in that group. She huddled close to Pria and Lily. The rest of the group consisted of Carla, James, Peter, and Sirius. Peter ran over behind the Death Eaters and ran out of the door._

_"Coward!" James yelled, "It wasn't you we should have tru—"_

_He was cut off as green light filled the room and the last of the students fell to the floor, Ally being one of them. The last she saw was a boney figure laughing, his red eyes meeting hers._

Ally shot up, out of the hospital bed and pulled back the covers; she grabbed her wand and stood. Pointing her wand and the voices in the room she spun around.

"Where's Tom Riddle?" she said frantically.

"Oh, get a grip girl!" Madam Pomfrey said, coming into view.

She pulled the wand out of her hand and sat her down on the side of the bed.

"Your friend knocked over a potion while you were cleaning up. Sadly for you, she hasn't relaxed at all, like I told her to the last time she was here."

"Huh?" Ally said after taking in her surroundings. She was at the hospital wing; there were a few students there. Briggs, for instance, was lying down, covered in a goopy violet paste. Ally could see that the clock said three o' clock. _I must've been out for a while._

"What did you say?"

"I said your friend knocked over a potion." Madam Pomfrey said.

"Wha-? But it wasn't Lily, it was me who knocked over the—" Madam Pomfrey shushed her and pulled her to her feet.

"Whatever you're babbling about doesn't matter. You can still make your eighth timetable class."

Ally stood there, confused. _I don't have am eighth timetable today... I only have seven..._

"Madam Pomfrey, pardon but—"

"Quickly, quickly!" she ushered Ally out of the hospital wings double doors, "I know how important classes are to you Miss Evans."

The double doors slammed behind Ally with a deafening boom. _I don't think I'm the only one who got hit in the head today..._

Ally shrugged her shoulders and made her way toward the Gryffindor common room. Soon after reaching the portrait of the fat lady she realized she didn't have the familiar weight of her book bag around her shoulder.

_I must've forgotten it in the Potions class, _she sighed, _why does everything bad happen to me...?_

She closed the portrait and ran back down to the dungeons. As she was running she passed Carla and Pria.

"Hey guys!" she panted and waved as she passed them, still jogging.

"Hey Lil! Where are you going that you have to run there?"

Ally didn't have time to ask why they called her Lil. _Probably said the wrong name by accident... _Grabbing her book bag from the Potions classroom she rushed out the door. _Darn it! _Ally checked the time. _I'm late to meet Lily in the library._

She ran through the corridors, cursing how large the castle was. Turning a corner too fast, Ally tripped over herself and dropped her books.

"Great!" she said sarcastically.

She knelt down to pick up her books and gathered her things. An ink bottle crashed to the floor when she dropped her bag and covered most of her books. She busied herself trying to save some of her homework.

Two hands appeared out of nowhere and helped her organize the growing mess on the floor. She looked up as James pulled out his wand and the spilled ink disappeared. He held out his hand to Ally.

"Thanks, James." she sighed and took his hand. As he pulled her up Ally could see him smiling confidently.

"What's up with you?" she had to smile at how dumb he was acting.

"I knew one day we would come to be on first name basis, my sweet."

"Huh?" Ally replied, "We've always been on first name basis... What are you talking about?"

His face lit up and then he spun her around and took her arm, leading her down the hallway.

"Nothing, nothing, I should have known you would see my superiority to the other guys in our school one day." he led her down the hallway.

"Where are you taking me?" Ally asked in befuddlement. _Maybe he's ill... Should I report this? I should find Sirius; he'll know what's wrong with him. Alright, I just have to act calm, sudden movements could distract him._

"Wherever you want to go, Evans..."

_Oooooh, perhaps his vision is impaired... But no one would ever mistake me for Lily, he must be insane... Yes, that's it, he's mental... I have to find some way to shake him off and then get help. He could be dangerous. Quick! Mind, play my theme song!_

"Could we go to the Library?" she said, whirling him around to the stairway.

"Absolutely, what a wonderful idea! We could read books, you like books don't you? I always see you reading them. You like strawberries too, and I like strawberries. I also like Quidditch. Do you like Quidditch? I haven't seen you at any of the games this year, I play chaser, you know. I even have an award for it! I bet you one day I'll go pro. I'd like to play seeker too..."

James continued to talk about the things he liked and the things Lily and he had in common as they walked to the library. _He must really be screwed up... Maybe we can get him to Mungo's for treatment_. Ally began to devise several escape plans as she walked arm and arm toward the library.

Soon as they approached the library, they ran into Sirius.

"Hey Prongs, what are you--? Er—?" he stopped as he caught sight of James and Ally.

Ally looked at Sirius desperately and mouthed the words 'Help me!' Sirius looked from Ally to James, who was still talking about how great he was in transfiguration, and nodded.

"...You know, I even managed to become an anim—"

"Prongs! Mate, you know that we're having an emergency meeting out on the Quidditch pitch! Wood arranged it; we need to work on our passing."

Sirius steered James away from Ally.

"Get down to the pitch! I'll catch you there later; Wood wants to talk to you first."

"Er... Hope you don't mind Lily. Quidditch calls."

"Oh, no, I don't mind at all James. Go on... go."

"I'm really sorry—"

"GO!"

"Right! Thanks!" he waved, grinning madly, and disappeared around the corner.

"Thank God you're here!" Ally said, "I think he's lost his mind! He was calling me sweetie and—and—well, that was basically it, but it was still scary!"

Sirius looked at her weirdly.

"He _always_ calls you those things, and since when do you need help getting rid of James? Most of the times you don't need anyone else to help you engage him in a fight."

"What are you talking about? He never calls me any of those things! And I barely talk to him most of the time, how could we get into a fight?"

Sirius looked at her in shock. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, like a fish would do. Coming to his senses, he finally responded.

"You know I heard about a potions accident in your class... Slughorn never said what it did." he muttered, and then out loud he said, "Where you one of the two people hit by that smoke in potions? I've been hearing about it all day."

"Eeeeer yeah... what does that have to do with how James is crazy?"

"James isn't crazy Lil. I think _you_ might be a bit messed up."

"Why does everyone keep calling me Lil! My name is Al! AUGH! No it's not, my name is Ally."

"No... You're_ Lily_..."

**"No. I'm. Not.** I'm beginning to think you're more messed up than James."

"No Lily... I think you're confused," he spun her around to look at her reflection in a suit of armor; "You're Lily."

Ally screamed.

**Suit of Armor POV**

_I hate this spot... I want to go back to the entrance hall._

**Ally POV**

Red hair...

Green eyes...

Lily's face...

Lily's body...

"OMIGOD, I'M LILY! SHE STOLE MY BODY! NO WAIT! I STOLE HERS! I'M A BODY STEALER! I'M GOING TO GO TO AZKABAN AND THEY'LL MAKE ME DO THEIR LAUNDRY! I'M NOT MADE FOR COMMON LABOR, I NEED PAMPERING! WAIT! THIS ISN"T MY BODY! LILY NEEDS PAMPERING... or does she...? I could go to Azkaban but it wouldn't matter because it's Lily... OH MY GOSH I'M LILY! OR LILY'S ALLY... OR ALLY INVADED MY MIND IF I'M LILY... I'M CONFUSING MYSELF!"

Ally was hysterical and pulled at Lily's hair while she screamed bloody murder.

"LILY! WHERE ARE YOU!"

"CALM DOWN!" Sirius shook her by the shoulders.

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN! I'M LILY!"

"I said calm down." Sirius said in a deathly cold tone.

Ally shut up and closed her mouth with a snap. She stood there whimpering.

"_Slughorn... can... fix... it... we... just... need ... to... find... your... body_." he said very slowly.

Ally's—er—Lily's face lit up and her frantic breathing stopped. _Of course... Slughorn can do it... he has to be able to fix it... Isn't he supposed to be the Potions Master? And if not, I'm surrounded by wizards and witches... my uncle owns Mungo's, he can fix it... and Dumbledore wouldn't allow anything to happen to me._

Ally took a deep breath and steadied herself.

_Alright... find Lily... or... find me._

"Great! Let's go find my body!"

She pulled Sirius along with her and ran toward the hospital wing.

Lily POV

Lily woke up with a start.

_Ugh... my head hurts so badly. _She sat up on her hospital bed abruptly and immediately regretted it_... not a good idea..._she thought. The light hurt her head immensely. She threw back the covers and staggered to a standing position.

Looking around she threw on her cloak and grabbed her bag. _Maybe I can still make it to my Muggle Studies class. _She threw a glance at the clock. Three thirty.

_I can still catch the ending if I hurry._

She ran out the hospital wing in a flash while shouting a thank you to Madam Pomfrey.

She ran through the halls and began the long climb toward the tower. _Oh, no. The professors are going to be so mad at me. I missed so much homework, how will I catch up? I'll have to sacrifice my meeting with Ally._

She passed by Remus who was on his way down the tower with the rest of her Muggle Studies class. Lily sighed. _Looks like I did miss my class after all. Well, might as well meet with the professor to get the homework._

"Al!"

_Who?_

Remus ran toward her and handed her a scribbled down assignment.

"Thought you could give this to—"

"Oh, thank you Remus!" she threw her arms around her friends and grabbed the assignment on the paper, "Now I won't have to deal with the professor, you know how I hate to disappoint them."

"Sorry, what?" Remus looked at her in surprise, "I didn't know your friend's homework meant that much to you."

Lily wasn't listening, though. She was looking over the assignment.

"Do you know how much I missed in class? From the looks of this, I missed a lot. I can barely understand anything on this paper."

"Well..." he looked at her and then shrugged, "Since you got in that potions accident (don't look so surprised, it's all over the school), you missed bobertubers in Herbology and you missed working with fire omens in Divination. Oh! And you missed your Diricawl with Sirius."

"No, I'm talking about what I missed in Muggle Studies. And I'm working with Beatrice in Care of Magical Creatures."

"You don't take Muggle studies, Al."

"Yes I do... and why are you calling me Al?"

"Oh... I thought you liked it." Remus said in surprise, they had stopped walking and sat down on a bench outside. Lily took out her books from her bag. Remus followed her example, but they kept talking. It was snowing lightly, but a simple 'impervius' charm kept the weather from ruining their homework.

"Why would I like being called Ally's nickname? And I do too take Muggle Studies! I sit in the front row, for goodness sake."

"Oh, sorry." Remus said quickly, dismissing the subject matter, thinking that Ally had simply taken the subject up recently and had missed her first lesson because of a potions accident.

"So have you told Sirius you've switched partners?"

"I haven't switched partners... And why would I tell Sirius anything?" Lily had a sharp tone to her voice she didn't intend.

"Oh," Remus said, and quietly he added, "I thought you were friends..."

"I'm sorry, Remus," Lily sighed, "I just have a lot of homework to catch up on, especially now that I missed all my classes."

"I've never known you to be all that concerned about homework..."

"What, are you kidding me!" Lily looked up from her Potions homework and stared at him, "I always get my homework done first! It would be irresponsible if I didn't."

"Wow," Remus said, "You've really turned over a new leaf."

"What are you talking about? I've always been like this, Remus."

"I guess I never noticed before..." he blushed and turned back to his book on forest animals.

"So all those years of studying together have had no effect on you? Do you even remember what I was like around the O.W.L.S?"

"Okay, now I know I'm not crazy when I say this," he looked at her incredulously, "You weren't _here_ when we took the O.W.L.S."

"Yes I was! I was sitting five rows behind you and three seats to the left."

"No... You were at Beauxbatons... In France... you hadn't moved here yet, Al."

"You're insane!" Lily stood up, finally having enough, "I think you need you need your head checked. And I told you to stop calling me Ally's nickname!"

"You _are _Ally."

"I'm Lily!"

"Ally!"

"Lily!"

"Ally!"

"Lily!"

Remus dragged her over to the side of the lake.

"What are you doing Remus? Let me go? Where are you taking me? This isn't a nice thing for a friend to do!"

He reached the edge of the lake and pointed to her reflection.

"You're Ally." he said firmly.

Lily took one look at her reflection and did a double take.

_That's not my hair... it's not red... why is it black? What's wrong with my reflection?_

She stared at her reflection and looked at Remus.

"That's not me..."

"I figured that." he said sarcastically.

"What am I going to do? Remus! That's not me. It's Ally, I'm Lily... How did this happen?"

She slowly and carefully sat down on the rock next to the lake and took deep breaths. _This isn't happening... this can't be happening... I'm going to be stuck like this._

"I can't stay like this... I have N.E.W.T.S next year... Who has my body? What are they doing with my body?"

She was trying to act calm... but couldn't. Soon, she was in a panic.

"What if I never find it? What if I die? Will they die, too? Will I be stuck like this? What am I going to do? Remus, you have to help me!"

"Relax, Lily..." Remus said, "I'm sure someone can fix it... Why don't we head to Hagrid's for a cup of tea, I'm sure he'll know what to do..."

He helped her up and steered her toward the hut near the forest. All the while, Lily couldn't help thinking about what her body was doing...

**(A/N evil laughter didn't expect that did you? Oh, and If you see any typos, mail me with the chapter name and where the typo is! I'll patch it up in a flash! Thanks! BentReeds)**


	15. Chapter 15 Running Into People

**(A/N Alright this is basically a story to fit in between chapters, I didn't want to rush into the Christmas break too soon. So...)**

Ch. 15 Running Into People

"So you're saying we have to wait an entire day?" Ally proclaimed.

They were in Dumbledore's office; Ally and Sirius were seated across from the Headmaster. His hands were crossed and resting on the desk in front of him, and he wore an amused expression on his face. Ally couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what was so amusing about this. Especially after having had spells cast at her by the headmaster, who had thought, at first, that this was another Marauder joke.

"I'm afraid so... Professor Slughorn..." he indicated the tub of lard that was declined in a soft and cushy armchair in the corner. Slughorn was wearing a lime green, pin striped coat and orange overalls, "... has analyzed the potion that you and Miss Pierce—"

"Evans... I'm Pierce."

"So sorry, child." he amended, "That you and Miss Evans were exposed to. The potion was not powerful, a few hours and a good night sleep and it will wear off by morning."

The Headmaster smiled encouragingly.

"In the meantime I suggest you find Miss Pierce—"

"Evans."

"Evans... My, this is confusing," he rubbed his forehead, "I suggest you find Miss Evans and tell her about this - hopefully before she gets into trouble, because you will be blamed."

They all stood, except for Slughorn, who lazily rested on his chair.

"Thank you, Professor." Ally said and shook his hand.

"Thanks." Sirius said.

"I think I'll stay behind," Slughorn said jovially to the students, "I have a bit of business to take care of with our Headmaster. Nothing to important, time to stock our potions shelves again. Run along, now. You best be off to find your other half." he chuckled to himself, "Of all the things to happen..."

Ally walked past the Potion's master and exited the office. Just as she was about to travel down the stone steps she heard Dumbledore's voice behind her.

"I believe Lily enjoys visiting Hagrid's hut this time of year!"

Hagrid's hut was a small, wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of rather large galoshes were outside the front door. There was only one large room inside and an open fire on the right side, where a copper kettle was boiling tea.

Lily and Remus had seated themselves at a small round table in the center of the room. To the back of them was a large bed with a patchwork quilt atop it.

Lily had calmed down from her frenzy and was taking deep breaths now. Her cool, calm, and logical side took over and she was thinking of what to do next.

"Now," Hagrid said as he poured them a cup of tea, "When are you going to see Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore?" Remus asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, Dumbledore, who else? The greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had. Good man, Dumbledore, good man."

He went off mumbling to himself softly.

"Do you think he knows what to do? Does he know where Ally is? Can he fix us?"

Lily was thinking about stories she heard from seventh years, talking about being splinched while attempting to apparate. _Maybe this isn't that different, maybe when Dumbledore tries to switch us back we get stuck in something else... like a teapot or a chair. What if my soul drifts forever?_

"Yer lucky though, that potion could'er done somethin' much worse, Potions was never me best subject, I was much better at Care of Magical Creatures..."

"Oh..." Lily said despondently, she listened to Hagrid talk about his Hogwarts days fondly while she sipped her tea. Remus asked questions about Hagrid's past while Lily thought about what Dumbledore could do about their situation. She thought more about what Ally was doing at the moment. _Hopefully she doesn't run into Potter anytime soon..._

Ally raced down the labyrinthine halls of Hogwarts. Their footsteps echoing loudly on the cold stone floors, most of the students were in their common rooms, or at the library, waiting for dinner.

Ally and Sirius headed toward one of Hogwarts exits. Ally watched through the passing windows as she ran, the Quidditch pitch was deserted. _Well no wonder, it's snowing. I hope I don't run into James again once he figures out there isn't Quidditch practice. _

She thought too soon. Running up to her when she turned a corner was the great and terrible Potter himself, dressed in his wet red and gold Quidditch robes. He looked like he had been out in the snow too long.

"Hey," he panted and waved as he came up to the two, "There wasn't Quidditch practice,"

_No,_ _really?_

"But I thought it would be a good idea to get some practicing in, while I was out there. That's just the kind of hard working guy I am." he winked at the presumed Lily, "So... why aren't you at the library, love?"

"Er—well... you see..." Ally faltered.

"She was with me!" Sirius butted in.  
James looked between Lily and Sirius with suspicion, and then realization dawned on his face.

"You... you two—you lied to me!" he pointed at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius objected, clearly not getting what James was aiming at.

"You were... you were with Lily." his face mirrored horror, "And you—you were _together!_"

_Oh, he's clearly getting at something._

"What? James I would never? Look, have you seen Al?"  
"You lied to me—sent me away—to get her all for you! Poor Lily! I can't believe I thought you were my friend!"

"No! James you've got it all wrong..."

Ally tuned out the bickering friends. _I don't have time for this... _she thought_. I need to find Lily! Or... me?_

She ran further down the halls. She stopped momentarily to check her watch; a quarter of an hour had passed. Ally kept running, wishing desperately that Dumbledore will choose to renovate the castle and make it smaller.

She hurried down the entrance steps and in her rush, she slammed into another student.

"Sorry, sorry." she said, distracted. She bent down to help the student up.

While she helped him up, she got a better view of him. His skin was pallid and pale; he had an awkward demeanor and when he stood he looked somewhat stretched and stringy. His hair hung from his head in lank, long, greasy black strands. He straightened up with his books in his hands, revealing his face, which had a long hooked nose.

"Evans!" his face brightened slightly at the sight of her.

_Okay... Lily must know him. Why would she know him...? It's got to be something from out of classes; I have everything with her except muggle studies... And I doubt a Slytherin would be caught dead in the muggle studies classroom. _

She glanced at the Slytherin seal on his cloak while he was talking.

"—dueling club."

"Sorry, what?"

"Dueling club," he said again, "We have it again Thursday, not to mention Professor Arma will be out again, and she wants us to take charge."

Ally started down the stairs again, and to her surprise, the Slytherin followed.

"Alright, thanks for telling me." she said, trying to wrap up the conversation, even though this person seemed like the only half-way decent Slytherin she had ever seen. At least he wasn't trying to hex her.

"No problem, do you know what the homework was for Charms?"

"No sorry, I missed it. I was in a Potions accident, missed most of my classes."

"That's right..." he said quietly, "I heard about that, the gossip in this school is horrible. By this time tomorrow, the fifth year girls will have you turn into a toad."

She giggled at the image of a toad with red hair and green eyes.

"That _would _be something they would do."

_I change my mind, this one's okay. Maybe when I get back my body I'll ask Lily about this dueling club._

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Hagrid's hut."

"Oh," he responded, "I don't think I'll follow you, Hagrid and I have never gotten along, as you know."

_I know something?_

"Right, see you later!" she waved as he turned the corner and headed in the opposite direction.

As soon as he was out of sight and ear shot Ally broke in to a run. Before she got far (barely halfway down the hall), she was pulled back by a hand on her arm.

"Who is it now!" she said loudly, sounding annoyed.

"It's me of course! I just finished setting James straight, hope you don't mind, I told him you needed to talk to me about 'Ally', I can't remember exactly what I said. Just avoid him for awhile." Sirius pulled her along in the direction of Hagrid's hut. They walked onto the grounds, it was snowing lightly, "Why were you talking to greasy old _Snivellus _anyway?"

Ally saw his lip curl in disgust when he said the nickname.

"Snivellus? Who's he? What does that mean? You guys need to figure out some better nicknames. It's getting weird."

Sirius ignored her remark..

"Snape, Severus Snape... _Snivellus_. That greasy git I saw you wave goodbye to. Are you friends? Wait, you can't be friends, he thinks you're..."

He trailed off with a repulsing look on his face.

"Lily _knows _that guy? What is she doing with him? I'm going to talk to James about this. He won't like it one bit. We'll get him back, no doubt, me and James. What did he say to you, anyway?"

"Get him back? Why? And all we talked about was dueling club and Charms homework, he seemed nice."

"Nice... Nice! NICE! Are you kidding me? That guys evil! He's in Slytherin, Ally. Don't you get it? He's probably _already_ a death eater like the rest of them, all greasy and slimy... You know, you shouldn't associate with Slytherins. They're dangerous and—and—and."

He seemed at a lost for words. Ally would have sympathized at any other moment, but she was still angry at him. It was another petty Slytherin versus Gryffindor dispute. The Gryffindors talked about being non-prejudiced and noble and courageous, the Slytherins hexed them back, then the Gryffindors started throwing curses...

It annoyed Ally to no end. As much as she liked the Gryffindor house, they were in no position to start preaching, especially when they shunned anyone in the Slytherin house. She didn't exactly think that the Slytherins were angels either; they were just as guilty as the Gryffindors. That possibly made her even madder. Just because they were in different houses didn't mean they had to be mortal enemies._ I bet if they got past that, they could actually be friends..._

"So you think he's evil..."

Sirius nodded his head vigorously.

"Because he's in Slytherin..."

"Exactly!" Sirius jumped, "You've got it! For a second there—I saw that Lily look on your face—well, it is Lily's face—I thought you were going to tell me I was being stupid!" he sighed in relief, "So you'll stay away from him right? You understand what I'm talking about?"

"Oh..." Ally pulled out a book from her book bag, "I understand."

WHACK.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR!"

WHACK.

Sirius backed away from Ally.

WHACK. She smacked him across the back of his head with her book again.

"I don't EVER want to hear you talk like that again!"

He looked at her incredulously with raised eyebrows; she sent him her most scary glare back and saw him sigh.

"Alright, okay...Sheesh! Sorry—didn't mean to offend you!"

He raised his hands in defeat and walked beside her in silence the rest of the way to Hagrid's hut. Had they been paying attention, they would have noticed two distant figures running up the stone.

Ally banged on the wooden door. She heard barking behind the door, then the loud, booming voice of Hagrid.

"**Back**—Fang, back."

A shaggy head peered around the corner of the door. Hagrid took one look at Ally and Sirius, then smiled and opened wide the door.

"'Ello there Mr. Black, and Miss Pierce!"

Ally and Sirius rushed in, stomped their shoes on the welcome mat to shake off any loose snow, and sat down next to the fire. Hagrid's large bloodhound, Fang, came lolling up to them, and wagged his tail when Sirius scratched behind his ears.

Ally looked around, never having been in Hagrid's hut before, and then turned back to the giant.

"You know who I am?" Ally asked.

"Course I do!" Hagrid said happily, while handing out tea cups. "Lily visited me earlier, with Mr. Lupin. I sent them to Dumbledore straight away, straight away."

"What! But—" Ally was at a loss for words.

Hagrid looked at her.

"But we were just there!" Ally burst out. "How long ago did you send them to Professor Dumbledore?'"

"Well, just 'bout a minute ago. "Yer want any cake?'

"No thank you, Hagrid!" Ally sprang from her seat, "We've got to go find them!" she pulled Sirius up and ran out onto the grounds, leaving Hagrid with a stupid expression on his face.

"Thank you for the tea!" Ally shouted back.

Hagrid grinned and went about tidying up his hut.

Lily and Remus were walking back from Dumbledore's office. After Dumbledore explained how Ally and Sirius had come to visit them earlier. It was rather humorous to walk into a conversation between Slughorn and Dumbledore.

"Just saying, so sorry, never really meant to take a sip."

"According to the crowd at Three Broomsticks, you took more than a sip."

Slughorn looked abashed and muttered silently.

"What was that?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in amusement.  
"The occasion seemed to call for a few drinks, never in a thousand years would I have dreamt of taking from your stocks Albus, but you know what it's like when your peers are pressuring you." he mumbled and shifted his large weight from foot to foot.

"Ah," Dumbledore said, smiling, and motioned for Ally and Remus to enter. "We have some guests.

Slughorn turned a beet red, from embarrassment or from anger, Lily couldn't tell. He retreated backwards and turned to leave the office.

"Oh, and Horace?" Dumbledore shouted out after him, "Please inform me the next time you plan on intercepting my Christmas mead and getting drunk."

Lily giggled at the memory of a shocked Slughorn. _He really is a bit of a leech, isn't he? I had wondered where all the teachers were last Saturday... must have been partying._

"Laughing at Slughorn?" Remus said wisely.

"Well, you have to admit it was a bit satisfying to see him so flabbergasted."

"Yes," he said, grinning now, "I'll remember that forever."

Lily and Remus were walking further down into the castle, heading for the entrance. Imagine their shock when they heard that they had just missed Ally and Sirius while walking on the grounds.

"If we don't find them now, there's no reason to worry. We'll see them at dinner eventually, or we'll see them in the common room at night. I don't think too much damage has been—James?"

James was standing in the middle of the hall. Still in his Gryffindor quidditch robes, he had dried off slightly since being outside. Despite being wet down, his hair was sticking up at odd angles and was as messy as ever. Normally James had a confident look on his face, but today he traded it in for a humorously confused look. He was staring at the wall, trying to figure out exactly what Sirius had babbled to him before running off.

Lily was scowling at the sight of him. _Oh, great, Potter; just what I need to top off the day._ Remus shot her a pointed look and Lily forced down her bad attitude. _That's right, Ally and James get along, I can't exactly start yelling at him for things he didn't do to me, he'll be even more confused than he looks now!_ She stopped scowling and scolded herself for being so childish.

"James?" Remus asked quietly.

James started and stared at them. Then he grinned.

"Hey," he sighed, "Am I glad to see you two!" he said cheerfully.

"What happened?" Lily spoke up, trying to act as Ally-like as possible. To her surprise he managed to complete his next sentence without any _loves _or _darlings_.

"Nothing much," Remus started to walk and Lily and James fell in next to him, "I ran into Lily and Sirius twice today, and both times they were acting extremely weird. Lily was looking for you." he said to Lily, "Wanted to talk to you about something important. I don't know what it was; they were really secretive about it."

Lily sighed in relief; _He thinks I'm Ally, good._

"What happened the first time you saw them?"

"I don't really know..." he said, "First, I ran into Lily and she acted as if she was into me—"

Lily scoffed and James elbowed her.

"Don't even start, Pierce." he said jokingly, "Anyway, we ran into Sirius and he told me that we had quidditch practice and the captain wanted to talk to me, that's normally our code... turns out we didn't have practice."

"Of course you didn't!" Remus said, "It's snowing!"

"Yeah, I noticed." James replied sarcastically and flicked water onto him. "I thought Sirius was just sending me a message to meet him there. After that, I played around with the Quaffle for a while, waiting for him, he never came so I ran back in. When I got inside I ran into Lily and Sirius _again_. I guess they were off together... even though Lily had said she was going into the library, which means she lied. Why would she lie to me?"

"How do you know she didn't lie to you?" Remus said, "Suppose she did go to the library, then left."

"Possibly," he said and then continued, "They were just acting really weird, like they were hiding something. For a second there, I thought they had gone off to snog."

Lily snorted and smacked him across the head.

"Don't say that! I would never—"

"What _Ally_ is trying to point out," Remus raised her eyebrows at her, "is that you shouldn't jump to conclusions, I'm sure Lily is perfectly innocent."

James rubbed his head and laughed while Lily glared at him.

"Relax, Al, I didn't mean to offend anyone."

"Yeah, sure you didn't." she said, mustering up all the Ally sarcasm within her.

He grinned and gave Lily a side hug. Lily blushed, (against her will, as she will say later to Remus) and James clapped Remus on the back.

"See you later in the common room, Moony!" he shouted while walking away, "And remember to find Lily!" he said as an after thought.

He disappeared around the corner and Lily and Remus continued walking.

"Did I just see you blush?" Remus inquired, grinning.

"No." Lily said stiffly and crossed her arms. "You did not." Lily flipped her hair to cover her red face.

"Sure." he said and rolled his eyes.

"You _didn't._"

"Next thing we know..."

"Remus!"

Sirius and Ally ran through Hogwarts halls, higher and higher up, heading toward the Headmaster's office.

"They better be there this time!" Ally panted, "This is getting irritating, missing them."

"I agree." Sirius said wholeheartedly and they continued the long climb. Not long after they reached the charms corridor, they ran into a now dry James.

"Hey guys!" he grinned at them and ruffled up his hair."Where're you going?"

"I need to find Ally." Ally said without hesitation. She looked imploringly at James, "Have you seen her?"

_James will tell Lily anything. Hopefully he knows where they are. _

"Yeah, I just passed her by, she was with Remus. They were heading down to the grounds, from the looks of it," he pointed down the hallway he had just come from, "You might want to hurry to find them, it's a big castle."

Ally and Sirius started down the hallway after shouting their thanks.

"I told them to look for you!" he yelled after them as they disappeared around the corner.

Remus and Lily were heading up the castle, after hearing from a stray Hufflepuff that Ally was recently seen climbing the stairs.

"This is getting ridiculous." Lily sighed, "We'll never find them."

As soon as she said that a black and red blur came raging down the stairs and nearly ran into them.

"Hey, watch it!" Remus shouted after them as Lily and he regained their footing.

Lily flipped her hair back and paused.

"Was that—?"

"Do you think—?"

Without thought they turned around and raced down the stairs.

"Ally!"

"Padfoot!"

Ally distinctly heard her name and turned around to be engulfed in a hug from Lily—er—her.

"Lily!" Ally shouted and returned the hug, "Where were you?"

"At Hagrid's!" she said, Ally recognized Remus behind her, he was talking to Sirius. "Then Dumbledore's, then we were heading down to the grounds, and then we headed back up after hearing from a Hufflepuff that they saw you near the astronomy tower."

"That's a lot of places! I take it... Dumbledore told you about sleeping it off."

"Yeah," Lily looked over at Remus talking to Sirius in hushed whispers.

"Come on," she pulled her over to the side of the hall.

Ally had to admit, it was a bit weird to be talking to her own self, a little awkward too. She had trouble not staring. _It's like I have a twin, except, I don't look like her... that doesn't make sense. Oh well. _Lily looked around, checking for listeners, and leaned in to whisper to Ally in an amused voice.

"You have to hear what we found out about Slughorn."

"What is it?" she whispered, catching on to her tone of voice.

"Well..." Lily told Ally about walking in on Dumbledore's and Slughorn's conversation.

"He _did_ that!" Ally exclaimed, amused, "That's so funny!"

"It is not _funny_, it's disgusting," Lily crossed her arms, "He stole the Headmaster's mead and got drunk off of it, and in front of the entire teaching staff!"

"It's still funny," said Ally, giggling.

"So who did you run into?"

"Potter..."

Lily gasped.

"What did you do to him?"

"Hopefully not to much damage," Ally said sympathetically, and recounted her story to Lily.

When she finished Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.

"He'll never let me live that one down... you _actually_ walked to the library with them?"

"Yeah," Ally winced, "I didn't know I was you at the time..."

"It's alright, but what about Severus? You mentioned him, too." Lily inquired.

"I only ran into him once, you have Thursday Dueling club... and..."

Ally screwed up her face in thought.

"He said something about a teacher being gone... Professor Ar... something."

"Arma, Professor Arma, he probably wants us to take over again, he does that."

Lily furrowed her brow and looked over at Remus and Sirius, who were laughing at something Remus had just said.

"You know, Sirius gave me the impression that he didn't like Severus much..."

"He doesn't'." Lily rolled her eyes and scowled, "It's just another little Slytherin and Gryffindor vendetta, ignore it, they'll grow up... one day."

"Hopefully,"

"Perhaps,"

"_Probably_ not."

"No reason to be a pessimist."

"Sorry."

"It's all right," Lily replied, "Let's get out of here; go to the common room."

'Don't we have dinner?" Ally asked.

"Oh, yeah," Lily said, "Well... let's try to avoid talking to anyone. It might be disastrous."

They left the two Gryffindor boys in the hall without a word and headed for the great hall. Entering the hall Ally noticed nothing out of the ordinary. They sat in their normal seat, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Ally saw the Headmaster bent in conversation with the Slughorn. Slughorn looked to be apologizing and Ally had to shove a roll in her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"What is it?" Lily asked smiling.

Ally laughed and took the roll out of her mouth.

"Head table," she pointed.

Lily ducked her head after she looked and started to laugh. A few Hufflepuffs were looking at them strangely and they silenced themselves... with some difficulty.

"He needs to be taught a lesson..." Lily smiled.

"After break," Ally said, with realization dawning on her face, "We still need to figure Riddle out."

"After break, then..."

**(A/N Sorry this came in soooo late. I went to go see a play my county was putting on, twas fun! Well, I'm going to go sleep now. Bye, and remember...**

**REVIEWING SAVES TREES!)**


	16. Chapter 16 Dueling Club

**(A/N This had got to be the most fun I have ever had writing. I had such a good time playing with characters and scenery and Hogwarts and—and—everything! Please read. Reviews are currently saving the Ginko Tree)**

Chapter 16 Dueling Club

Lily made no move to mention to anyone else about their switch. Truthfully, Ally was relieved Lily didn't. Although they did tell Pria and Carla after Pria had attempted to start a conversation with Lily about snorkel wasps and Lily was dumbfounded as to what to say. They woke up the next morning as themselves, thankfully. Lily avoided James at all costs and Ally apologized to Sirius for screaming so loudly. So far, Lily hadn't made any mention about her teaching the Dueling Club on Thursday.

Ally was anxious for classes to end, sadly, the Professors felt differently. Professor McGonagall seemed determined to assign so much homework that it would last all through break. Luckily for Ally, her talking hat wanted to help.

"No, that's spelt H—U—M, not H—U—R."

"Whoops, sorry." Ally scribbled out her misspelled word and wrote in the correct spelling.

"Thanks, Dr. Hack."

She decided to name the hat. No point in continuing calling it 'hat', besides, Ally thought the name was funny, Dr. Hack agreed. Thanks to Dr. Hack, Ally had advance in transfiguration from transfiguring shoes to a bird, to transfiguring a chair to a lizard. 'Much more complex,' Lily had told her. How complex, Ally didn't know, it was all the same to her. Charms were a synch. Professor Flitwick, like the other teachers, agreed in piling on homework. It came to Ally and Lily easily though, while the Marauders were struggling with the flame freezing charm (even if they'd never admit it).

The previous dinner, a few days before break, lists had gone out and Lily and Ally had signed up to stay over break. Apparently, all the Marauders were leaving over break. The Potters had invited Sirius and Remus over, while Peter had to stays with his mother.

"Good, I don't want to have to deal with that." Lily said when Ally told her, "Nothing _ever_ good comes out of Potter and his little friends staying, especially with less staff present, they can go blow up their parents' house for all I care."

Ally and Lily were in the library, finishing a potions essay that Slughorn had assigned at the last minute.

"Is anyone else in Gryffindor staying?"

"A few third years, and two seventh years, other than that, no..."

"Good," she bent over her book, "The less people around the better, we don't want to get caught."

"So you're with me? On the Riddle thing?"

"I don't particularly agree with your new interests, it's probably nothing," she set down her book and looked around, she leaned closer to whisper, "I think it will be a brilliant opportunity for me to test _just_ how good I am in Charms, though."

"What are you planning?" Ally asked, pretending to read a page about the uses of unicorn hairs.

"Something that isn't in our curriculum," she wrote something down on a piece of parchment and slid it across the table.

_It's a mix between the invisibility charm, and the freezing charm..._

**You're planning to freeze me while I'm invisible? What did I ever do to you?**

_No... I plan on freezing the library in time... it might work, but not for long, you'll have to work fast._

**How does that work? If I walk in, I'll freeze.**

_Not you... If anyone tries to enter the library, as soon as they walk into the room they'll be frozen in time. That way, Filch won't be able to catch you. If you see him, you'll be able to slip past unnoticed. But like I said, you'll have to be fast, it won't last too long. Hogwarts is very magical, there are wards that will immediately try to fight against this kind of thing. _

**Bring track shoes, got it. What if we get caught?**

_Say you were trying to research something in your sleep._

**What kind of excuse is that!**

_Fine... smile and laugh, shrug it off, hope for the best. Do you want to find out more or not?_

Ally shrugged and nodded, Lily frowned and shook her head as if to clear off any thoughts.

"We should get back to the common room, it's getting late..."

They stood and returned some of their books to the shelves. Ally took their note to make sure no one would see it. Madam Pince looked up for a moment and gave them a suspicious look before returning to stamping books with the Hogwarts seal. They left the library and traveled through the many halls of Hogwarts. Entering the hole behind the fat Lady portrait, Lily and Ally dropped their books to join Pria and Carla, who were playing a game of chess. Before Ally sat down, she made sure to toss their note in the fire, she wanted to make sure no one would catch onto them.

Of course, you couldn't really call the game they were playing _chess_. Pria decided, earlier in the year, that Wizards chess had far too many rules in it. So, to make the game more entertaining for her, she added a few more pieces to her already unique chess set. One of her new additions, the troll, was in a wrestling match with Carla's gnome.

"Get him Big T!" she encouraged from behind her army.

Lily and Ally watched with interest as Carla's phoenix piece swooped over the fighting troll and gnome, and dropped a wand from the gnome to use.

"Hey!" Pria frowned, "How did you get you're phoenix to fly, mine can only sing out of tune,"

True enough, Pria's phoenix was singing a jazz hit to a mermaid, who had her fins clamped over her ears.

"Going back to our previous conversation," Lily continued, watching the game with amusement, "An invisibility charm would work well, I was reading a book—"

"Really!"

"No!"

"I'm so surprised!"

Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Ally, "I was reading a book about invisibility cloaks, and there's a unique charm they use to enchant the cloth."

"But we don't _have_ an invisibility cloak." Ally pursed her lips and put a rogue knight and a dragon back on the chess board.

"No, we don't, but..." she paused, "if we alter the charm, just a little, we might be able to turn you invisible. The only thing is... it might be a little difficult to change you back."

"Joy."

"What are you two talking about, invisibility?"

"None of your business," Lily said quickly, waving Pria off, "It's nothing important."

"What? Nothing little fifth years need to know about?" Pria said, "As soon as we take our O.W.L.s, I expect you'll let us in on all your little sixth year secrets."

"Maaaybe," Ally said slyly, "If you _pass_ your O.W.L.s."

Pria scowled and went back to cheering on her queen, who was in a cat fight with the previously mentioned mermaid.

"Anyways..." Lily continued, once she was sure Pria was focused on the game, "Since I have to make prefect rounds on and off all break, we'll have to do this on one of the days I have off. The day before Christmas break ends would be best. That way, everyone is preparing for the students to return and no one will notice two missing Gryffindors."

"And it will give us more time to study and prepare."

"Exactly."

Snow and ice was hailing down on Hogwarts the week before the students left for the holidays. The great hall was decorated with the traditional Christmas trees and wreaths were hung on almost every door. Most students were avoiding the divination tower, a Ravenclaw had predicted that mistletoe had to be hung every three feet or else Trelawney would be stunned and drown in the Black lake. Christmas candles were floating around the corridors in groups of ten or twelve, flickering between red and green.

The Gryffindor common room had changed along with the rest of the castle. House elves had put up a flashing Christmas lights, and some third years had hung tinsel from the ceiling. The bulletin board was enchanted by the Marauders to sing Christmas carols... constantly. Lily charmed Christmas bulbs to float above their heads and Ally had transfigured a chair into an evergreen tree that grew candy.

On Thursday night Lily left the common room for Dueling club. Ally lingered behind, wondering if she should follow, deciding that it would be a good idea, she ran after her friend and caught Lily's arm before she left the common room.

"Would you mind if I tagged along?" Ally said hopefully.

"Well..." Lily thought for a moment, "I'm not sure if it's really your sort of activity..."

"Aw, come on," Ally whined, "I'll go once, and if I don't like it I'll leave and never go back."

Lily sighed and consented.

"Alright."

"Yes!" Ally jumped and clapped her hands. Lily frowned at her display, but said nothing.

"We're going to the Great Hall; it's the only place in the castle that has enough room to fit us."

"Got it!" she grinned and ran upstairs to grab her wand. Armed and prepared, Ally and Lily ran down the stairs toward the great hall. Ally stopped at the entrance to the Great hall and peered in. A large amount of students were congregated, about a hundred, and it was enough to intimidate Ally a little. _Only_ a little.

The normal house tables had disappeared. Despite that, the students seemed to fell safer in groups of their own house. Ally spotted a seventh year Gryffindor off to the side, and ran over to her while Lily vanished into the crowd.

"Hey, Alice?"

"Hi!" Alice said cheerfully. The Gryffindor girl was known to be very optimistic, "Is this your first time at our little club?"

"Yep," Ally looked around with growing anticipation.

"Good, the first time's the most fun! If you get stuck I'll help you out, this Dueling Club is the best kept secret Hogwarts has ever had! Of course, it's not much of a secret anymore..."

"How long have you come here?" Ally asked.

"Since my third year, that would be your second." Alice pointed out, "It used to be just me, Frank, and a couple of Ravenclaws. We never told anyone though... How did we get so many members?" Alice gestured to the crowd.

Ally refrained from telling Alice _exactly _how _she_ found out about the Dueling Club.

"Who knows, Hogwarts has some great gossipers," she pointed to the Hufflepuffs, "No secret is safe."

They were unable to say more though; all attention was drawn to the two students in the middle of the hall. Ally was intrigued, she had never seen a wizards duel before in her life. It wasn't encouraged in her old school.

She watched as her best friend and Severus strode forward and bowed to each other. Well, Lily bowed, Snape inclined his head. Not disrespectfully, though. Both of their faces bared no emotion toward the other opponent. Taking ten steps away they raised their wands in unison and another Slytherin stepped forward to count them down.

"One—two—" he brought down a red flag in his hand, "—Three."

Lily's wand emitted a flash of metallic blue light and Severus dodged the attack at the same time he shouted out something discernable to Ally. Lily tripped over when the black light from Snape tied itself around her foot and pulled. While Lily was distracted, Snape sent a disarming spell at her and her wand flew out of her hand.

When Lily regained her footing, a Hufflepuff helped her up; she snatched up her wand and straitened her robes, then bowed to Severus, who bowed back.

"As you can see." she said, after casting the 'sonorus' charm on her voice to make it louder, "Today we will be practicing first distracting our opponents, then disarming them."

"To distract your opponent," Severus picked up the cue from Lily, "A jinx would suffice... anything that would divert their focus from attacking you. Individual opponent will be distracted by different things. I suggest you partner up with someone you _know._"

Severus eyes swept the room.

"And to disarm...you should all be aware of the disarming charm, but more importantly, _distract your opponent_. Begin."

Ally immediately partnered up with Alice, who took Ally through the basic steps again. They did several practice rounds before they decided to do the real thing.

Half an Hour later...

"You know, you're pretty good... at least for someone whose never done this sort of thing before." Alice said, aiming her wand at her legs to get rid of the jelly legs hex.

"Thanks!" Ally watched the crowd disperse.

The Great Hall was being spelled back to normal, now that the club had concluded for the holiday. The Ravenclaw seventh years were floating all the decoration back and a group of Slytherins were trying to move the tables back to normal. The tables thought that it would be a better idea, though, to slide around the great hall, ramming into each other like bumper cars.

Against Alice, Ally was obviously outmatched by someone who had dueled for at least four years. In spite of being outmatched, Ally won five out of eleven matches, doing extraordinarily well for her first time.

"Did I really do well for my first time?" Ally said self consciously.

"Of course! My first time was terrible! I tripped over my own robes and smacked my face against the stone." Alice grimaced at the memory, "I kept on trying to hex Frank... only my nose was messing up my annunciation, unfortunately for me, 'stubify' is not a real spell."

"Ouch," Ally watched as Lily and Severus appeared and they were talking in the middle of the hall, "Well, I guess I'll see you after break."

Ally waved good bye to Alice who walked away toward a Gryffindor boy Ally recognized as Frank Longbottom. They left the hall together and Ally ran over to her friend who was still talking to the Slytherin.

"Lally!" Ally hugged Lily, "That was sooooooo much fun! I can't wait for the next meeting,"

"You actually enjoyed it?" Lily said, shocked.

"Of course I did, I beat Alice half the time. Well, almost half the time. Five out of eleven times, actually."

"You beat Alice," Severus cut in smoothly, "five out of the eleven you faced off?"

"Yes," Ally said, "I did."

"Impressive," he said and held out his hand, "I'm—"

"Snape, I know." Ally took his hand and shook it, "My name is Ally," she saw Lily looking onto the conversation with interest.

"Well, that's enough introductions for now," Lily looked at the Hall, now clean and organized, "We best be off for now," she said, "It's getting late, and I don't fancy being caught in the corridors by Filch out of hours."

"Neither do I," Ally agreed and they left the Great Hall after saying good bye.

Lily and Ally entered the common room as the clock struck nine o' clock.

"Just on time," Ally said happily as she climbed into the portrait hole, Lily following behind her. "And soon the Christmas Holidays will be here and we'll have the whole place to ourselves... well, not quite..."

Ally and Lily sat down just as James and Remus ran down the stairs.

"There you two are!" James said grinning and he ruffled his hair, "We were just about to go find you if you had stayed out a little bit longer."

Ally eyed them with suspicion and raised her eyebrows, "Why did you need to see us?" she asked.

"Oh, _this_ and _that_," James said, sitting down on the couch across from Lily, "How are you, sweet?"

"Don't talk to me." she said scowling, "What do you two want?"

"We were just wondering, since you seem to be one of the few Gryffindors who are staying over Christmas break who we are acquainted with. We were wondering if you two," he pointed at Ally and Lily, "Would do us a favor."

"How would we benefit?" Lily said sharply.

"James won't speak to you for a week." Remus interjected.

"Wha--!" James cried but Remus clapped a hand over his mouth.

"A month," Lily haggled.

"One and a half weeks, including weekends, no love notes, no letters, and no sign language," he debated.

"I'll accept when I hear what I have to do." Lily said smoothly. Ally looked on with interest and decided to add her input.

"Nothing illegal either."

Remus released James from his bind and nodded. James ruffled his hair in irritation and scowled.

"As I was saying," he winked at Lily, who barely stopped herself from slapping him, "First thing is that we need to know if Sam Howell is staying over vacation."

"I can do that!" Ally said happily and sprung from her seat to grab a quill and a piece of parchment, she scribbled a note on it and stuck it in her pocket while the conversation between Lily and the two Marauders continued.

"What else, it can't be that easy..." Lily said suspiciously, "What is it that's so important to you?"

"Oh, it's not my problem, it's Moony he has this thing—"

"Prongs!"

"Sorry, it's his deal, not mine," he sighed overdramatically, "I'm the one who will be sacrificing my time for a good friend..."

Lily sighed.

"Just get on with it, what you need us to do, that you—" she waved a hand at James, "The great Potter, cannot do."

"After you find out if Sam is staying over break." Remus said quietly.

"What Moony said."

"Fine," Lily said and sat back with her arms crossed, "But only because I want that week and a half of a life free of Potter." She spat the name out like venom.

"Aw, Lily, I'm hurt," he said, "But I'm sure it's just because you're sour that you'll be missing Christmas break with me. Don't worry love, I'll make it up to you."

"I'm sour, I'M sour! You better—"

Ally and Remus rolled their eyes, and left the bickering students in the common room.

The Next Day...

Late in the afternoon, Ally, Lily and Sam were in History of Magic. Lily was taking notes furiously and Ally was only listening to half of what Binns was saying. She'd get the notes from a reluctant Lily later. Ally had her note to Sam in hand and was waiting for the Ravenclaw in-between them to fall asleep, like he always did halfway through the calls.

Ally watched his head bob up... and down... up... and down. With a cluck it hit the desk and a loud snore sounded from his mouth. _Finally, he should sleep more! _Ally crumpled up her note and tossed it over his head and onto Sam's desk. She knew exactly what was on that note, she had read it over many times to make sure she didn't look like she was prying.

**Sammy,**

**Hey, are you staying at Hogwarts over break? Lily and I are staying. Lily has to do some prefect things, but I'm sure I can get her free for one night so we can hang out. Maybe we can even sneak you into the Gryffindor common room, I'm sure it wouldn't matter.**

**AL**

Ally saw Sam read over the note and then shoot Ally a smile. She scribbled down her reply, crumpled it up, and then tossed it over the sleeping Ravenclaw boy. Of course, Sam was never known to have been the most athletically inclined. She missed and the note hit the boy on his head. She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle as the sleeping boy stirred and mumbled "Owl, stop attacking me."

Ally giggled to herself and rolled her eyes. "Accio," the note flew into her hand and she flattened it out so she could see it.

**_AL_**

**_I'm staying at Hogwarts. My parents are going to go visit my aunt. I'm glad I'm staying, she owns these horrible cats! All over the place, it's gross. I'd love to see the common room, but I don't know if that's against the rules or not, it doesn't seem like such a good idea._**

_**Sam**_

Ally tossed the note back over.

**Sam,**

**It'll be fun; they're not going to expel one of the top students! And it's not in the rules, I've read them, McGonagall has them plastered on her walls, right next to my seat in transfiguration. Hold on, I'll ask Lily if it's cool with her.**

**AL**

Ally threw it back over the Ravenclaw, he was mumbling about not wanting to be a paint balloon. Sam gave Ally a thumbs up and jerked her head toward Lily, as if saying "Ask her!"

Ally wrote down another note, _Gosh, this is using up my parchment; I'll have to owl mum. _She slid the note over to Lily's desk and waited for her to see it.

Lily was still scribbling furiously. Professor Binns paused to breathe. _Why? He's dead. Oh well, it must be a habit. I wonder if other ghosts have that habit._ Lily took a moment to read what Ally had written.

**Lil,**

**Sneak Sam into the Gryffindor common room?**

**AL**

Lily put down the note as soon as Binns began speaking again and started to write again. When he paused for yet another breath, she scribbled.

_Wednesday._

Lily didn't bother sending the note back. So Ally took the liberty of grabbing it off her desk and reading the reply. Sam looked back at Ally with curiosity and Ally mouthed the word "Wednesday" to her. She nodded and they were dismissed later.

Ally found Remus talking to James after class. Lily followed absentmindedly, her nose in a book as she walked.

James took the liberty of serenading Lily off (into an argument) so Ally could speak to Remus.

"She's staying over the holidays." she said, watching his reaction closely.

"Really?" he looked nervous, "Oh, er—would you mind—then if you've got time—do you think—"

"What?" Ally said, as he shifted from foot to foot looking rather nervous.

"Could you give her this?" he pulled out a letter from his robe pocket and handed it to Ally.

Ally observed the letter, it was normal parchment. She was tempted to break the simple seal and see what was inside that made Remus so shifty.

"Please don't read it," he said, "And... Could you wait for the holidays to give that to her? I want her to have time to read it while I'm gone..."

"I won't read it if you don't ask me to." Ally said as she placed the letter in her pocket and smiled, "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks." Remus looked relieved and gave her a smile. They both turned to Lily who was screaming at James to unhand her book.

"We should pull them apart before they hurt anyone."

"We should... or we could go get some lunch."

"If we must..." Ally sighed, linking arms with Remus they passed the fighting teenagers with looks of disapproval as Lily barreled James into a suit of armor.

Suit of Armor POV

_No place is safe._


	17. Chapter 17 Christmas Day

**(A/N Fun with writing, this chapter is a chapter that sets up the next couple of chapters. How many times can I use the word chapter in a sentence? Oh, to answer the greatest question of all. Reviewing doesn't actually save trees; I was just screwing with you. But please review, it saves chickens.)**

Chapter 17-Christmas and Dwarfs

The Holidays had started and Ally and Lily were happy to have the dormitory to themselves. To their delight, Potter had agreed to leave Lily alone for a week and a half after break ended. For most of the week, Lily and Ally spent their days playing Pria's game of made-up chess (she had left it for them) and helping Professor Flitwick decorate the castle. They met with Sam for breakfast, lunch and dinner. House tables didn't matter much anymore, since there seemed to be only about forty students left. Ally also saw more of Severus, who also was staying over the holidays. How bizarre it must have looked, two Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin fighting over a cinnamon roll. Dumbledore found it particularly amusing and often joined them for breakfast. Their favorite topic of conversation: dueling.

Since Lily had to do prefect duties, Ally was left alone in Gryffindor tower. She grew bored most of the times and contented herself by exploring the castle. For no matter how many times she ventured out of the common room, she always found a new passage way or a new room that she had never seen before. The castle seemed endless. Her favorite room, so far, was a room that changed appearance every time you stepped on the rug in the middle. It was a nifty spot, so she made sure to memorize the location.

Sometimes, after dinner, when the castle was mainly full of sleeping occupants, Ally would duel with Lily and Severus. She still hadn't won a duel with Severus, but she had bested Lily half the times, and she was improving. Once, she _almost_ managed to disarm Severus, but the cluck struck nine o' clock and they had to leave for bed before she could manage it.

Unfortunately for Lily and Ally, Madam Pince had decided to stay over for the holidays, and was watching Ally and her friends like a hawk whenever they entered the library. Most of the time, they were the only students in the library, so it was impossible to even glance at the restricted section.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

**(A/N Wait... that's been used before...)**

On Christmas Eve, Ally and Lily helped Hagrid decorate the Great Hall for the next day. A few hours later, Ally went to bed with her thoughts full of dancing Christmas lights and tinsel.

The next morning, Lily and her woke up and ran down the common room. The house elves had already placed their presents beneath a large tree that was adorned in Gryffindor colored decorations.

"Happy Christmas!" Lily shouted and threw Ally a present. Together, they dug through their pile of presents.

Ally opened her present from her uncle first. She undid the ribbon and tore open the card on the top.

_**Al,**_

_**How are you? After that little mess up on Halloween, I decided that I had to make it up to you somehow. Hope you like the present!**_

_**Love,**_

_**Uncle David**_

Ally folded the note back up and placed it on her bed. She undid the paper surrounding a long, thin box. As she the top, she practically rolled her eyes at how corny her uncle could be. Ally picked up the heart locket and opened the clasp. The inside had two pictures in it, one was Ally and her Uncle at Bonham, dancing, and the other picture was of Ally and her cousin.

_Could he get anymore sappy?_ She tied the necklace around her neck with a smile.

Ally went through her other presents. Lily had given her a green, poofy, quill that supposedly wrote down what the professor was saying, so she'd never have to take notes again. She had gotten a large box of candy from Remus, with a note that said 'Thanks for understanding. You sent me loads candy, so here's some for you'

James sent her 'Quidditch through the Ages" and Ally decided to read. _I'll write sarcastic comments on the side. _Sam sent her a rare galleon with Godric Gryffindor on the first side and on the flip side was Rowena Ravenclaw. The note from Sam said to flip it over; when Ally did the faces had changed to Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff. Ally flipped it again and Dumbledore and McGonagall were on the coin. _That'll keep me busy during History of Magic; it must be terribly obvious to my friends that I was bored. _The last present was from Sirius, it was a blue watch. She fastened it onto her wrist and it flashed the words "Time to thank Sirius for such a fine gift." Ally giggled and promised to thank him when he got back.

Ally stopped to look over at what Lily had gotten.

"What _is _that?" Ally exclaimed at the gift Lily had gotten.

"It's a furball," Lily said cryptically, "Three guesses who it's from."

"Not—"

"The one and only Potter."

A small pink furball was jumping on her bed and squealing with delight. For such a small thing, it was jumping so high, a few more inches and it could have touched the ceiling. Ally couldn't distinguish it in any way, shape, or form. It had no markings, and no face, as far as she could tell, it was a pink and furry ball that was humming now as it bounced from Lily's bed to Ally's.

"I thought those were yellowish..." Ally asked.

"We were studying how to change an animal's colors last week in transfiguration, remember," Lily said somberly, watching it spin in the air as it jumped, "He must have picked it up."

"How can you be so sad?" Ally picked up the pink furry ball and tossed it in the air, "It's so cute!"

Lily sighed.

"But it's from _him._" she whined, "its soooo cute and it's from _him._"

"He doesn't have to know you like the gift." Ally shrugged, "Don't say anything, and just keep it."

"I can't do that!" Lily cried, "That would be mean and I'd feel like I was in debt! What am I going to do?"

"Well..." Ally tossed the pink furball to her, "Dunno."

"Some help you are," Lily scowled and put the furball in her pocket.

Ally looked at the time on her watch, "I'm hungry, how 'bout you?" it said. Ally jumped up and grabbed Lily by the arm.

"Come on, let's go down to the Great Hall for breakfast." she said and, without giving her time to reply, they left the house dormitories.

The Great Hall was decorated accordingly. They paid the decorations no mind though, since they had helped put them up. Besides, Ally didn't want to think about the time Flitwick had tried to levitate a golden angel to the top of a huge tree. It had come crashing to the floor when Flitwick was distracted by a fly, and landed a mere two feet away from a shocked Ally.

Ally shuddered and took her seat across from Sam and next to Lily. They loaded their plates up after the food magically appeared in front of them.

Sam watched a range of emotions pass over Lily's face while they were eating and decided to throw Ally a confused look.

"Oh," Ally said, realizing what Sam was hinting at,"She's just mad because she got a present from James that she actually likes. It's driving her mad; I think it's in serious danger."

"It?" Sam asked warily.

"Puffskein."

"Pardon?"  
"It's a furball." Ally said loudly.

"Is it a cat or something, it's not a dog is it?" Sam asked.

"No, literally," Ally pulled the furball out of Lily's pocket before she could protest; "It's a furball."

The furball looked around and jumped into a bowl of pudding.

"Oh." Sam said, with her eyebrows raised, "I thought you meant—"

"It's alright." Ally said.

"So what's the problem with this..." she pointed at the pink fluffy ball floating in the pudding, "Furball."

"It's from _him_." Lily crossed her arms.

"Who?"

"_Him._" Lily said again.

"This isn't a 'furball' thing again is it?" Sam asked Ally.

"No," Ally was helping herself to some juice, "It's a Potter thing."

"Oooh," Sam said and nodded her head wisely, "But I still don't get what the big deal is."

"The big deal is," Lily snapped, "That I _loath_ Potter, and now he sent this cute little furball," she pointed at the pink thing rolling around the pancakes, "And I actually like this gift, so I feel obligated to thank him and I really, _really _do _not_ want to thank Potter for _anything_."

"Let's go to our dormitory and talk there," Ally said quickly, sensing another 'disturbance', "Sam, are you coming with?"

"Are you guys really serious about that?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Ally shrugged, "Why not, it's the holidays."

"Awesome!" Sam jumped up, "I have to go get your presents first! Where should I meet you two?"

"Do you know where the portrait of the Fat Lady is?" Ally asked, standing.

"Of course!" Sam snapped her fingers, "It's rumored that's where Gryffindors have their common room. You're always seen walking to and from there."

"See you there!" Ally grabbed the furball, pulled Lily out of her seat and they walked back to the Fat Lady.

"I know!" Lily clapped her hands, Ally could have sworn she saw a light turn on over her head, "I'll just thank him casually. Walk right by him saying 'Thanks for the gift!' That's it, it's no big deal. Right?"

Ally didn't reply; she didn't need to because they were already at the portrait of the Fat lady.

"Well!" said the Fat Lady, "What are you waiting for? There's no one around."

"We're waiting for a friend." was all Ally said.

Soon, Sam came running up the stairs carrying tow boxes wrapped in Christmas paper.

"Sorry I took so long," she panted, "It's a long way from—"

"Form the west tower?" Ally said wisely, "Ravenclaws aren't the only ones who notice was certain houses are seen milling around."

Sam blushed and nodded, "So what does this portrait do?"

"Well I'm a marvelous singer, I play a fine game of chess, and my classmates voted me most likely to—"

"Fortis Fossor." Lily said.

"I can play piano and violin, I was once in a string ensemble—"

"Fortis Fossor." Lily and Ally said in unison.

"My mother always told me I had a knack for the medical arts, in fact I have a painting in Mungo's—"

"FORTIS FOSSOR!" they yelled.

"ALRIGHT!" yelled the Fat Lady, "For once I thought people would actually be interested in _my_ life, not getting into the bloody dormitory!"

She huffed and swung forward as Sam gasped. Ally and Lily climbed into the Gryffindor common room. Sam followed quickly after them and jumped when the portrait closed behind her with a 'bang!'

They all settled in on the couches in front of a roaring fire. Sam looked around curiously.

"This isn't like the Ravenclaw dormitories. It's much cozier, everything in our common room is blue and black, and our ceiling is different... We have a planetarium for a ceiling." Sam looked around with growing curiosity.

Lily explained the charms on the decorations. She pointed out the bulletin board and showed Sam the girls' dormitories. Sam thought their room was amusing. Then they settled down on the couches again and Sam watched Ally and Lily play a game of Pria's wizard's chess.

Finally, after growing bored of playing chess, Ally nudged Sam in the arm.

"I believe you mentioned some sort of presents?" she smiled.

"Oh, yeah!" Sam shoved the two boxes into their arms. Lily undid hers first while Sam was talking to them, "I thought you guys would like these!"

Ally undid hers, the first time she saw her present, and she was tempted to ask Sam what she was thinking of. Then she noticed the note attached and read it first.

_**AL,**_

**_This is paper that is unreadable to anyone who isn't you, me, or Lily. You can charm it to fit a couple more people in._**

_**So, no, I didn't just get you parchment.**_

_**Sam**_

****Ally looked at the parchment with happiness, now she wouldn't have to worry about anyone reading their notes. Ally looked at what Lily had gotten. To everyone absolute surprise... it was... a book.

"Didn't see _that_ one coming," Ally pointed to the book, "I swear she would've made a great Ravenclaw."

"Maybe, I don't think they'd get along very well." Sam said thoughtfully, "What do you think Lily?"

Silence.

"Lily!"

A few mumbled words escaped from her mouth and Ally and Sam leaned closer.

"What was that?"

"Meh."

The two girls burst out into laughter and toppled over. Lily looked up from her book and watched the other girls with interest.

"What's so funny?"

Ally and Sam were gasping for breath, and looking up at Lily's confused face only made them start a fresh fit of laughter.

Finally, Ally and Sam calmed down, and Lily put away her book. Ally grabbed the pink furball she had left on the chess set and tossed it to Lily, who tossed it to Sam, who tossed it to Ally and over again. The furball gave a squeal of happiness every time it was thrown in the air.

Eventually the furball fell asleep while they were tossing it around and they grew tired of throwing a lifeless ball of fur around.

Ally sat down next to Sam and Lily and they played violent game of exploding snap that turned into a game of poker, a muggle game that Lily taught them.

Once they were finished playing games, they lay down on the rug in front of the fire and caught up with everything that had been happening outside of school.

"This Vernon fellow I was talking about to Ally," Lily said to them while chewing on a candy cane, "He sends these really sappy love notes to Petunia! It's so funny! Mum says Petunia is really serious about him..."

Ally zoned out on whatever Lily's sister's newest infatuation was. When Lily mentioned notes, Ally felt like she was forgetting something. _Did I leave a note laying someone for someone to find. Did I forget to read a note...? _It was something important, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She thought of Frank and his remembrall and stifled a laugh.

Searching through her mind, she reviewed the last few days. _Riddle, Potter versus Lily, Remus... something to do with Remus... The letter!_

Ally jumped up from where she was lying down and raced up the girl's dormitories steps.

"Hey, Al! Where are you going!" she heard Lily say, Ally ignored her and rummaged through her things. She searched her trunk, her back pack, Lily's things, her bed... nothing. _Where did I put that letter! _She spotted her robe and prayed the letter was in there. She checked the left pocket... nothing. The right pocket she felt a piece of parchment and pulled out what was easily recognized as Remus' writing.

_Yes! _She thought triumphantly and ran down the stairs again. Holding the letter like a trophy she handed it to Sam.

"I forgot this!" she said, "It's from Remus, he wanted us to give this to you."

"Oh right!" Lily said and smacked herself on the forehead, "And to think, I would have given up a Potter free week because we forgot."

Ally watched Sam's reaction as she broke the seal on the letter and read quickly through it. Ally looked over at Lily who was also observing Sam with growing curiosity. The letter was relatively short, or at least from what Ally could tell, but Sam was a Ravenclaw, and Ravenclaws always read things carefully and precisely, making sure not to miss any information. Once Sam finished reading the letter twice she folded it up and stashed it in her pocket.

"Well..." Lily said slowly, "What... does it say?"

"What does what say?" Sam said innocently.

"The letter!" Ally cried.

"It says..." Sam whispered.

Ally and Lily leaned forward with growing anticipation.

"It says... none of your business." Sam stood up, "And now I think your watch is saying it's time for dinner."

Sam strode out of the Gryffindor common room with one last look around, leaving a shocked Lily and Ally lying on the floor. Ally looked down at her watch.

"It really does say it's time for dinner, you know."

Christmas Dinner...

The House Elves in the Kitchen had truly outdone them selves for this Christmas feast. That's the only thing you could call it, a feast. With enough food to feed fifteen Hogwartses, Ally and Lily were full before dessert came along. What remained of the school all sat on one crowded house table in the middle of the hall.

The most fun part of the Christmas dinner was when Slughorn stood up, drunk, and decided to belt out the Hogwarts School song. Oddly enough, the staff joined in on singing, as well as the rest of the students. Ally was delighted to see the ghosts join them during the song. Nearly Headless Nick conducted his ghostly brethren.

When the song was complete the hall burst out into clapping. Slughorn stood and bowed, tipsily, and sat down next to Professor McGonagall, who kissed him on the cheek. He blushed.

Professor Dumbledore bid them all a fond good night and left the Hall to no doubt sleep off whatever mead he had been drinking. Ally and Lily stayed behind and waited for the hall to thin out. When it did Lily pulled out her wand and aimed for Slughorn.

A ribbon of red light escaped from her wand and slowly revolved, unnoticed, around Slughorn as he exited the hall.

"What did you do!" Ally asked when they were back in the common room, sipping hot cocoa in front of the fire, and away from any prying ears.

"A small charm I invented one day when I was mad a potter," she said, sipping her cocoa, with a smile tugging at her lips, "I planned on using it on Potter one day, if he ever _really_ ticked me off. But this seemed like such a better idea; hopefully he won't drink so recklessly after this."

"But..." Ally said, "What does it _do_?"

"Let's just say," Lily said evilly, "That Slughorn will have a new perspective."

"Alright, then, what are we going to do about Riddle?" Ally put down her cup and set her jaw, "We've been avoiding planning this for long enough."

"You're right," Lily set down her cup too, "If we really want to get all those books—"

"Information on Riddle."

"—Then we need to have a solid plan."

The rest of the night they went over possible routes and charms that they could use to their advantage. After several long hours, the two Gryffindors retired to their beds in high spirits.

The next day at breakfast, Dumbledore stood silently and the school directed their attention to him, his unmistakable blue eyes twinkling with unspoken laughter.

"I'm sad to inform you, my staff and my students," he paused to look at them, though Ally suspected he was stifling laughter, "That our dear Potions Master Slughorn has been stricken by terrible misfortune. I'm afraid that he will be staying in the hospital the next several days before break ends."

He moved to sit down, but an older student, probably from the slug club, shouted out.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Our poor Professor..." he paused for a dramatic affect, "Has been struck by Dwarf Flu."

A few collective gasps issued from a group of Hufflepuffs.

"No he hasn't," Lily muttered to Ally, "That's what my charm makes it look like, right now he's up in the hospital about three feet tall."

"Talk about a new perspective."


	18. Chapter 18 The Unrestricted Section

**(A/N Don't e-mail me saying that the restricted section of the library is called the "Restricted Section" I know that, the title is a play on words. Thanks! Please Review, it saves Hippogryffs!)**

Chapter 18- The _Un_restricted Section

The rest of the holidays passed with a blur and Ally couldn't possibly wait to get into the Library's restricted section. She enjoyed herself by snowball fights and chess games but she also needed to learn more about Riddle.

After Christmas, however, didn't come with good news. Dumbledore had to inform the remaining students of the 'war' outside Hogwarts walls. The dark lord Voldemort had grown stronger in the passing month after his first couple of attacks, and he was rallying followers. After a few days, since half the staff was away on break, Dumbledore forbid the students from going outside after night had fallen, even though the older students were allowed to stay out until nine.

Ally received several letters from home, most of them were pleasant. One day, she received a letter from her mother, about a few muggleborns in their neighborhood that were attacked, so her family had moved while she was at Hogwarts. They would pick her up at Hogwarts at platform nine and three quarters, when school ended, and take her to her new home.

The Daily Prophet was a monstrosity those days. Every word printed in it became the only outside connection they had. Sadly, Ally realized that they were only down playing the attacks, and didn't get much out of it after. The Prophet was, unfortunately, one of the ministries only ways to reach the public. And the ministry was, possibly, just a big bunch of bumbling idiots.

Ally relied on Dumbledore for outside information about the 'war' and so did Lily and Sam. None of them trusted the prophet, who seemed to find that reporting news on the latest Witch Weekly's contest winner was more important then reporting on You-Know-Who.

On the bright side, the pink Puffskein had absolutely no idea what was going on. It had contented itself to jumping on the bed and rolling around the floor, oblivious to all things around it.

The day before Christmas break ended was the day they were planning their excursion. Unfortunately for them, Slughorn got better surprisingly fast, and was telling stories at dinner about how someone _else _climbed a mountain to sooth a group of stray trolls sick with fever.

When dinner had finished after a rousing story of how someone _other_ than Slughorn had invented a lucky potion, luckily, they all filed out of the hall while Lily and Ally hung behind the few Gryffindors heading to the common room.

Once they reached the dormitories, McGonagall was no where to be seen.

"Good," whispered Lily, who was reading a book, "I didn't want her to see us leave, we would have been caught before we even got out of the common room!"

Ally set down _Quidditch through the Ages_, the book she was scribbling in by the fire, and looked at her watch. It read "If you're going to do anything, do it now." Ally stood and grabbed Lily's book from under her nose.

"We should go now!" Ally whispered, so not to wake a sleeping first year on the large armchair, "It's nearly nine o clock!"

Lily jumped up from her seat and together they crawled through the portrait hole. Before Ally got fully through the exit, McGonagall's sharp voice rang out clearly.

"Just where do you two think you're going?"

Ally and Lily spun around to face their towering Head of House who had her lips in a tight, disapproving line. Her hair was in her austere bun, yet somehow it seemed to cackle with unseen electricity.

Suddenly, from behind her, Lily ran forward.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Professor!" Lily said in a panicky tone of voice, "It's just—I lost this book—it's Ally's and I borrowed it!—I lost it at the dinner table—I was so involved in listening to—to—Slughorn's story!"

Ally stood their expressionless, she couldn't decide on being shocked or being afraid of McGonagall.

"It was this amazing book! It was all about Water Plants and the Lock Ness monster—and—and I lost it!" Lily cried out and turned to McGonagall with watering eyes.

"Please don't punish us Professor McGonagall, I was just so scared of losing my friend's book—I wanted to get it back before night fell—but I only realized that it was missing a few minutes ago! I never meant to break any of the rules! This was my only chance to get it—the students are coming tomorrow and it will get ruined b-by them! They like to t-tear old m-missing books up! And write all over them! Just look at the book next to the fireplace!"

Lily pointed to Ally's copy of "Quidditch through the Ages. _Hey, _Ally thought, _that's not nice!_ It was true; however, that her copy was written over and torn a bit (when she thought a particular idea was ludicrous she tore out the page).

The old women immediately softened a bit when she saw how upset Lily was. _Good acting, we might be able to get through this after all._ Her severe demeanor was gone and she sympathized with Lily.

"Well... alright dear." she said uncertainly and patted her on the head, "I think it will be alright to let you two out to get that book. But you _must_ promise to go straight there and back, no funny business." she said sternly as an after thought.

Lily and Ally nodded quickly and promised to be back as soon as possible. They both knew that the Professor wouldn't wait for them to come back, so they forgot about time and left the portrait hole excitedly.

"That was brilliant!" Ally whispered to Lily, "Pure genius, I always knew McGonagall had a soft spot for you!"

They ran silently through the eerily quiet castle, watching for signs of Filch or his cat. They kept to the sides of the halls, next to the suits of armor, which turned their creaky helmets to get a better look at them when they ran. Ally had figured a long time ago that they were enchanted after she saw a few of them laugh at her when she tripped over the trick step on the fifth floor.

They were running around the tower, which was dark enough that they couldn't see where they were going. Ally and Lily heard footsteps. Ducking out of anyone's notice, they hid behind the large tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet, and waited silently for whoever it was to pass.

The footsteps grew louder and louder by the moment, Ally held her breath as whoever it was stopped in front of their hiding place. The footsteps turned and walked back the way they came and then stopped, once again in front of where they were hiding.

"You didn't walk by it three times!" whispered the first voice quickly.

"I did so! I walked by it once that way and then turned." whispered the second voice.

"No," said a third voice, "That's only twice Wormtail, count them up."

Ally and Lily looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Wormtail was the name of the fourth Marauder, and only the other Marauders called him that ridiculous nick name, which would mean that they were here. But that was impossible, they were supposed to be at the Potter's house in London, it didn't make any sense.

Ally peeked around the side of the statue to see if it was really them. All she saw was plain air. She breathed a sigh of relief. _They must have left and I didn't notice._

"Lily, it's okay," Ally whispered stepping out from behind the statue, "Whoever was here is gone now."

She heard a sharp intake of breath from both sides of her. _Huh?_ Was all she thought before she was knocked over by Peter, who stood with his wand pointed at her while she was on the ground.

Ally looked around; _where in the world did he come from_? She thought, _he just appeared from nowhere_! Ally didn't see the other three Marauders appear and Lily was caught by Remus.

"What are you two doing up?" James interrogated them after a bit of a struggle in which Lily and Ally were disarmed. They stood back to back, each with two wands pointed at them.

"Why are you at Hogwarts?" Lily countered easily, "Weren't you supposed to be at your parents' house?"  
"Answer our question first." James said, raising his wand at her.

"Lower your stupid wand already!" Ally said impatiently, "We aren't going to attack you."

"You tried to run away." Sirius said to her, "We're not going to forget that."

"Well, you did knock me off the ground, and you appeared from nowhere. Death Eater's have been running loose around the country. What did you expect, a welcome home party?" Ally said. "We didn't even know who it was."

"How do we know you won't go straight to McGonagall?" James asked suspiciously with his wand still raised.

"I told you to lower your wand!" Ally said sharply, and then took a deep breath. "We're in the same house; we should help each other out, it only makes sense."

Ally was unsure as whether to tell him that if they went to McGonagall, they would be caught also.

"Besides," Lily said slowly, "We can't go to McGonagall; she doesn't know we're here."

James looked curiously at Lily and seemed to be fighting an internal conflict. Finally, he decided to lower his wand and the rest of his friends followed his lead. Peter was the slowest to lower his wand. Ally glared at him.

"So, what are you doing in Hogwarts?" Lily said with a sigh of relief.

"Our question first," James said, "you still haven't explained what you are doing out in the middle of the night with no one around. Like Ally said," he pointed out, "Death Eater's have been attacking."

Lily and Ally sighed in unison. This wouldn't be easy.

"Can we talk amongst ourselves for a second?" Lily asked.

"No."

"Can we pass notes?" Ally asked.

"Pardon?"

"Notes," Ally said, "Can we pass notes? You know, a piece of paper that normally contains gossip and are given to a friend as a means of communication during boring classes such as History of Magic, those kinds of notes."

"Er—sure, I guess..." James said uncertainly. Remus looked amused, and Sirius looked confused.

"Good, can I borrow a quill?" Lily asked, holding out her hand.

"A quill? What do you need a quill for?" James asked stupidly.

"Do we have to go through what a note is again?" Lily asked.

James sighed and shuffled through the book bag he had hanging off his side. He pulled out two quills and an ink bottle.

"Here," he said, "You two are weird."

"Well, you're the one we wouldn't let us talk by ourselves." Ally said, taking out the enchanted parchment Sam had given her for Christmas.

She handed a piece to Lily, who dipped her quill in the ink bottle from James outstretched hand, and then wrote down a short note for Ally.

"I don't think you took enough ink Lily." James said, "I can't see any ink."

"It's invisible." Lily said, passing the note to Ally.

"No it's not," said James, checking the ink bottle, "It's normal ink, you just didn't take enough."

"No," Lily said again, "The paper can only be read by Ally and I. It's enchanted so you four won't be able to know what we're talking about, just in case you were thinking of finding the note later and reading it."

James looked slightly guilty, _slightly_. But he quickly covered it up. Ally read what Lily wrote down.

_Should we tell them about where we're really going? I don't think it's a good idea, but we can't tell them the story I told McGonagall. They'd never believe it in a million years._

Ally wrote her answer back and passed it to Lily. Remus started to chuckle at how ridiculous this must look, and Ally found herself giggling a bit too. _This is a bit silly isn't it?_ _But it's not my fault they wouldn't let us talk privately._

Lily read Ally's note and nodded, Ally remembered what she wrote and nodded back.

**I think we should tell them, we're in a tight spot and they are too, if we each agree not to tell McGonagall, then none of us can get in trouble. They may be able to help us too, aren't they supposed to be the best in troublemaking?**

"Why are you nodding? What are you talking about?" James took the piece of paper from Lily, who cried out in disagreement, and flipped in over, "There isn't anything on this paper.

"We told you that can't read it." Lily said defiantly, snatching the paper back and giving it to Ally, who put it away. "It's not our fault you don't listen."

They handed back the quills and James put them and the ink bottle away.

"So have you decided telling us why you're out so late at night?"

"What time is it?" Ally asked.

"Answer the question first." Sirius said.

"Well, we were going to the library." Lily shrugged her shoulders, "For a particular book."

James and Sirius dropped their jaws.

"A _book_! That's what you're doing out of bed, trying to get a book?"

"A couple of books actually, Lily wants a whole bunch." Ally pulled the list out of her pockets.

James took it from her and scanned the list over, then handed it to Remus.

"I'm not the expert on books," he said with a grin, "What do you make of these books Moony?"

Remus read over the list twice and smiled.

"I believe that _these _select books can only be found in the _restricted _section of the Hogwarts Library, Prongs."

James looked at Lily and Ally surprised.

"You two," he pointed at them, "Want to go into the restricted section of the library?"

"No, James," Lily said, "We want to look at them from afar."

"You called me James!"

"Get over it." Lily said.

"The point is," Ally intervened, "We need to get into the restricted section of the library."

"And we need to get there unnoticed." Lily added.

"Now," said Ally, "We told you what we're up to. Why don't you tell us why you're at Hogwarts when you should be at home?"

James looked at the other Marauders, who seemed to share a nod to one another.

"In London, there was an attack near my house." James said solemnly, "A couple of our neighbor's houses had the dark mark over them. We tried to help, but... it was too late."

"My dad was one of the few Aurors who made it to the scene to seen what the Death Eater's had done," he stopped to shudder, "It was horrible, totally wrecked, a bunch of muggles were standing around gawking. The Death Eaters must have gotten out by a portkey, since there were anti-disapparation wards around. My mum wanted us to go back to Hogwarts and my dad agreed. There's no safer place than Hogwarts."

"We just got back today; Dumbledore talked to us in the office during and after dinner. We were told to go back to the common room but we wanted to walk around for a bit."

Lily and Ally were silent for a while. This didn't seem like one of the Marauders' jokes. Looking around their faces were silent and reserved. It wasn't a topic that could be joked about lightly anyway.

"I believe you," Lily said, "And I'm sorry for giving you a hard time."

"Me too." Ally added.

James brightened up, mainly because of Lily, and began to walk down the hall. Lily and Ally shrugged and followed the Marauders to the library.

Outside the hallway that leads to the library, the Marauders and "Lally" stood silently whispering to one another. They were all hidden behind a statue of two fighting centaurs. How they managed to all fit behind there was a mystery to them.

"I need to get to the door and perform the Charm that will freeze the library. It will only be frozen as long as I can hold it against the magic in Hogwarts, so you'll have to go quickly."

"Won't it be cold in the library if it's frozen?" Peter asked.

"Er—" Remus interjected, "I believe Lily means frozen in _time_. Not in ice Peter."

"Oh," the small boy scratched his head.

"You can freeze rooms in time?" James looked impressed, "Since when?"

"Last week I figured out the proper incantation," Lily said. "It's not that difficult, but it takes a lot of magical energy. Now, what are you guys going to do?"

"We can make sure Filch doesn't get near," Sirius said. "If he comes we can distract him with a few Marauders tricks."

"Good," Ally said.

Remus and Sirius split up to go guard the other doors, James was going to watch over the door Lily was putting the incantation on and Ally followed James and Lily to the entrance. When they reached the door, James flung a cloak over Ally.

Lily gasped.

"I _knew _it! I knew it!" she said, jumping in excitement "You _do _have an invisibility cloak, James! That was how you won that snowball fight! That's how you sneak around!"

"In your words, Lily," James said grinning, "Get over it."

Lily smiled took out her wand to sweep it over the door frame; she was concentrating intensely on the incantation she was whispering sharply. A blue light encompassed the door and moved through the library. Ally watched as the shelves were swept over and the desk and chairs turned blue. The light faded and everything was back to normal, the only difference was that the books that normally floated around the library were frozen where they last were.

James nudged Ally, or the air next to Ally.

"Go!" he whispered, and left them there to guard from a hidden spot.

Lily stood frozen; a look of utmost concentration on her face, her wand was pointed at the door.

Ally took a deep breath and plunged into the library. She recognized the restricted section immediately. It was the only part of the library that had a door, and it was bolted tightly. She took out her wand and placed it on the lock.

"Alohamora." she whispered. The lock clicked open

She swung the gate open, and miraculously it didn't creak. Her eyes looked over the books packed neatly on the shelves. Realizing that she couldn't see, she lit her wand and held it closer to the books.

A pile of dust had settled since eth last time someone had entered here. The gold and silver covers of the books still shone brightly though. Ally pulled out the list she had been given.

_The Animagus World: An Analysis of the Beast Within._

Ally rolled her eyes; sometimes Lilly could be so random. She fingered through the books on the shelf and found the ancient book Lily wanted. Grabbing it off the shelf she slid it under the cloak and read the list again.

_Early Wizarding Accomplishments in Alchemy_

_I think Lily needs help..._ Ally thought, grabbing that book off the shelf, while she did, a particular book caught her eye.

_"Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century."_ she read aloud. Ally quickly snatched it up. _Riddle might just be in here. You don't know what he did. _She looked over the list again; the books under her arm were starting to weigh a lot.

_Astounding Magical Incantations for the Powerful Wizar_d

Ally snatched the final book from the shelf and hurriedly extinguished her wand. She was about to leave when a particular book with green and silver writing drew her attention. _Why not? _She thought, and grabbed the book. She rushed out of the restricted section, careful to fit the lock back in. Then she froze in fear.

A large BANG was heard out in the halls and Peeves' (the Hogwarts poltergeist) voice was screaming:

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED!"

A huge blue light washed across the library again and Ally knew she was out of time. She ran to the door in frenzy and nearly collided with Lily. Ally pulled off the cloak.

Without a word to each other, they ran through the hallways back to the Gryffindor Tower. Ally and Lily gasped the password to the Fat Lady, who started to complain about wild teenagers, and they climbed into the portrait hole as quickly as possible.

Together they collapsed on the couch and caught their breath.

"Let's never do that again." Lily panted.

"Agreed." Ally shook her hand and they waited patiently for the Marauders, who soon clambered into the portrait hole, also gasping for breath.

"I vote we change the location of the Gryffindor common room to the first floor." Remus said as he collapsed onto the couch, along with the rest of the Marauders.

They all watched the dwindling fire, still catching their breath.

"Well... That was the best 'welcome home' party ever." James said cheerfully after a while.

To everyone's surprise, Lily laughed along with the rest of them and Ally pulled out the books she was holding.

"Thanks, Marauders." she said. "We now have in our possession some of the most random books ever archived."

"Good!" Lily exclaimed and grabbed the books she wanted.

Ally fingered the first book she had found. G_reat Wizards of the Twentieth Century_. She read the title over and over again in her mind. She opened the first page that was about a wizard who discovered the newest version the magical shield charm.

She wanted to look at the other book in private some other time.

"What's this?" said James, taking one of Lily's books, "Alchemy? Why do you need to know about Alchemy?"

"It's an interest of mine..." Lily trailed off as she was reading the book on incantations.

James shrugged and stretched.

"Well," he yawned, "That was fun, but we should hit the hay, I'm exhausted..."

A general murmur of agreement rang out from the six Gryffindors sitting in front of the fire. Lily shut her book and they all made their way to the stair of their respective dormitories.

"Hey, James," Lily said quietly when the rest of the Marauders were on the stairs and he was behind. "Thanks for the furball."

He grinned obnoxiously and skipped up the steps with a new jump in his step. Ally and Lily ran up to their dormitory without a word to each other. They were both exhausted and didn't even bother getting changed. Ally lay down on her bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The Next Day...

"Hey, Al," Lily said at breakfast. "What was that other book that you got? The Green and Silver book? You were reading it in the common room."

Sam looked at Ally, intrigued over what book Ally had been reading all morning.

"Oh," Ally shrugged, sipping her juice, "Some kid wrote all over it. It's called _The Family Gaunt._"


	19. Chapter 19 Dementors

**(A/N I can't believe that Chapter Twenty is coming up... It's going by faster than I thought and I still have more to fit in this year. Tell me what you think of this! BYE!)**

Chapter 19-Dementors

"Alright," Ally said, leafing through her large book in the common room late at night, "What do you think about what this kid's written here?"

"_The Guants are descendant of one of the most infamous founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin. They have been identified as one of the only family's of wizards in Britain that have the ability to speak the snake language, Parsletoungue. It is believed, that Slytherin hid a secret chamber at Hogwarts and the only way to access it is through a Parseltongue password._ And look." Ally pointed to the side, where a sloped, stylish handwriting wasseen, "Someone's written the words, 'Open up.'"

Lily sighed; Ally was at it again, convinced that whoever had written all over that old book was Riddle. Lily couldn't complain, however, the books were worth it. Potter had left her alone for a full week and a half.

The students were back in the castle again and classes had resumed. They were drowned in essays and assignments but somehow, each and every Gryffindor seemed to get in trouble with a Slytherin every day. With the heightened 'war' awareness everyone was on their toes, watching out for Death Eaters and You-Know-Who himself.

Lily found that reading was relaxing in that harsh time. And, after a while, things calmed down. Lily supposed that their parents had made the students so jumpy. With Dumbledore at Hogwarts, everyone was safe.

The Daily Prophet was still printing about hoaxes and pranks and the students began to catch on. _"How long can this go on?"_ was what most of the students and staff were asking them selves. Days... Months... Years...? Was it possible? With the coming exams for the older students, it was difficult to concentrate on the outside world. Lily and Ally were involved in studying and then reading the old books they had picked out.

On the brighter side, whatever was written in that letter to Sam was really well written. Remus and she were inseparable lately, rarely seen without the other. The only times when they weren't together was when the full moon hit. Lily didn't ask him if she knew. It was a private matter and she didn't want to pressure him. Ally thought it was funny and proudly stated that she was the one to deliver the fateful letter that began the relationship. Remus simply blushed and shrunk away.

Ally had become a regular member of the Dueling Club since attending her first meeting in December. She was advancing at an alarmingly fast rate for someone who had never been exposed to the world of dueling before. For a second, it almost worried Lily, but then she thought, _This_ _is Ally; she's not going to turn dark anytime soon. _Lily had cheered Ally one when she went against their dueling teacher, Professor Arma and was shocked, amazed, and delighted when Ally had won the match.

"Lucky shot," said the Professor, rubbing his back, "Just a lucky shot..."

Quidditch had started back up again in the spring weather and Ally and Lily started to go to games. "Not for Potter," Lily said constantly, "I want to show some team sprit." Ally didn't care; all she wanted to do was yell "THE SNITCH IS RIGHT THERE!" at the top of her lungs, then point in three different directions and watch the seekers go from confused to angry. One time, a Ravenclaw yelled at her, but Sirius sent a bludger at him and she shut up quickly.

Lily had already read through the first two other books on alchemy and incantations. She pointed out a few important spells that Ally should know and also took a particular interest in one wizard, Nicholas Flamel. Now, she sympathized with Ally and her obsession with Tom Riddle because Lily couldn't find out enough about Flamel. She searched and searched for him but only found small scraps of information that only _slightly_ quenched her thirst for knowledge.

What she really found fascinating was his study on alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone. She had heard of such a myth when she was younger. Lily was always shocked on what she could find out in the wizard world. Perhaps that was why she studied so much, she didn't want to forget anything about her dream come true.

When she was younger, she always thought she was special. Well, her parents thought she was special but her classmates thought she was a freak. Weird things happened to her and oftentimes they happened without her being aware. She would be really angry and the lights in the house would flash on and off, or she would be sad and all the faucets and taps would turn on in the house when she cried. Her classmates had teased her endlessly and that's why she couldn't stand bullies.

As she got older she started to lose hope. Maybe she was a freak, an abnormality. That's when the most amazing thing that could possibly happen... happened. Her Hogwarts letter came. It was her most favorite piece of paper that she had ever come across. Lily still kept it safe in her trunk, hidden away from the world. So that one day when she was feeling sad she would take out the letter again and feel happy as she read through the introduction.

She remembered the first day she walked through Diagon Alley, her first sniff of the Apothecary, whirling through the tunnels underneath Gringotts. She remembered fitting her first robes and she remembered, most of all, the first time she ran into James and Sirius. She smiled at the memory when she had gotten them back for jinxing her ice cream. Her first summer after going to Hogwarts she feared that Hogwarts would disappear one day and she would have to go back to being a freak. So, to keep herself busy, she had hexed Petunia when she had gotten bored. That was her first and only warning not to use under aged magic. Lily thought it was funny how the owl had swooped in only moments after and landed on Petunias hair. She treasured the memory forever. In all seriousness, she loved her sister, but she could be a bit of a snob.

Lily jumped out of her reminiscence.

Ally was absorbed in the green and silver book, _The Family Gaunt_ and Lily was studying the book on Animagi. She thought over presenting the idea to Ally. _Knowing Al, she'd jump at the chance. _But then Lily thought about the consequences of doing something so dangerous. She also thought about what would happen if they were caught. The ministry came down hard upon unregistered Animagi; she didn't want to go to Azkaban without taking her N.E.W.T.s first. Her doubts were quelled, however, when the event of March transpired.

Dinner...

"Dumbledore says that the ministry is enforcing the boundaries."

"It's for our own protection."

"That's codswallop! Dumbledore has the place safe; he's the greatest wizard in the word."

"What about You-Know-Who? They say he's invincible."

"Dumbledore is the best man for the job. Not these ghosts."

"I heard from a Slytherin that they can suck out your soul."

"I doubt that's going to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters, doesn't he already have a couple of them on his side?"

"I hate them! They're so creepy they can suck the life out of you."

"They patrol Azkaban and the prisoners go mad there. That's what I heard."

"What are they called again?"

"De—"

"Men—"

"Tors—"

"DEMENTORS!" Ally shouted the evening of the second week of March. "What could they possibly be thinking?"

Dinner had concluded with Dumbledore's solemn announcement that Dementors were to patrol the entrances and the grounds at Hogwarts. No one was allowed out at night and the doors to the castle would be bolted shut. Hogwarts was impenetrable from the outside world. No one was allowed in or out. It became a way of life for most students.

Ally stuck to her own theory, _Don't run into the anything black and billowing, and when you're suddenly depressed, run for your life._

Lily wanted to know why they were suddenly clamping down on security. Why now? Why didn't they start this in January when the students had come back from home? Why didn't they start in February? What brought about this sudden change in attitude from the Ministry? It was unsettling to hear that the Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts for the first time in at least thirty years.

Ally heard from Sirius that the last time the Ministry tried to pull this kind of joke was when a girl had died at Hogwarts. He didn't say anymore on the subject and Ally didn't ask to hear anymore. The only thing that Ally asked was when it happened and Sirius estimated in the forties. Ally was so excited to hear about something happening in Riddle's time that she ran straight to the library to look it up. Lily wondered how Sirius knew about that sort of thing but she didn't press the subject, assuming it was a family matter. The Black family was one of the _oldest_ families in existence.

Quidditch practices were difficult for the Gryffindor team. Slytherin was booking the pitch so often that it was almost impossible for the captain to get a practice in and with the added stress of upcoming exams the team was getting stressed. Slytherins took advantage of their dispositions and tensions mounted when they would get into fights. Lily dropped a book during class and the Quidditch players all jumped.

"That isn't the real problem for the Quidditch team," James had told them, "It's the Dementors."

The foul guards of Azkaban patrolled the pitch at night and watched from afar during the day. Sometimes during practice they would travel dangerously close. Dumbledore had insisted upon a staff member being present for every practice. By the end of March, Dementors were a dangerous subject to tread upon. That was when Ally and Lily took it upon themselves to find a way to defend against the monstrous terrors.

Lily had shown Ally the page in the book _Astounding Magical Incantations for the Powerful Wizard_. On the page was a picture of a grotesquely drawn Dementor and a witch holding up her wand. Coming from the wand was silver light that, in the drawing, morphed into a cat.

"What does it mean?" Ally said, "Expecto Patronum?"

"It's a happy thought that if cast correctly would repel any Dementor." she said, "You would have to concentrate very hard. It's a powerful spell that'll waste your magical energy if you aren't used to it."

"It may be difficult to manage..." Ally said while skimming the page, "But I agree with you. We should be able to defend our selves from those things."

Lily sat down across from Lily on the common room couch. They hadn't even tried to conceal the books, no one in Gryffindor would rat them out to Madam Pince. The older students were too busy studying for exams. The Marauders already knew about the books. The younger students were afraid of older students. It all worked to their advantage but they also made sure not to show the books to someone who was a bit too close to McGonagall.

"There is another defense..." Lily trailed off in silence. This wasn't her idea of an after school project.

"What is it?" Ally leaned forward.

"This isn't really a theory that's practiced often... I wouldn't think it a good idea if we weren't in the middle of this war. I know we wouldn't misuse this sort of power but..."

"But...?"  
"We're in the middle of a war!" Lily cried out, "This would be an exceptional surprise for our opponents if we were cornered. I was reading up on it in this book."

She pulled out the old worn book on Animagi. Leafing through the yellow pages she found the paragraph she was looking for.

"It would also help provide an extra defense against Dementors... When we're in our given form we would have fewer emotions and the Dementors wouldn't be unable to sense our presence."

Ally eyed the book interestingly. She read the paragraph with a confused look on her face and then turned the book over to look over the cover. She glanced at the words and her jaw dropped. The book fell from her hands and hit the floor with a bang.

"ANI--!"

"SHHH!"

Ally leaned forward and whispered urgently.

"Animagi! Have you gone mental? You must have lost it. This is frowned upon—did you hear about—what bout cases when they got stuck—or when someone turned half human half cat!"

Ally bent down to grab the book from the floor.

"This isn't a game though Ally..." Lily whispered furiously, "This is serious... A thing like this could really come in handy. And as long as we know what each other's forms are... Why is it a problem? We'll know when the other is in trouble."

"What if we get put into a zoo? I don't want to drown!"

"How will be put in a zoo drown you?"

"I don't know!" Ally cried helplessly, "What if I was a fish!"

"You won't be a fish..." Lily said as she flipped through the book.

"_The Animagi form will be ascertained through a mixture of what the person desires to be, their true characteristics, their personality, and their distinguishing features."_

Lily read aloud the passage at the beginning of the chapter.

"So I won't become a fish?"

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

"My question first," Ally said, looking at Lily suspiciously "Will I or will I not become a fish?"

"You won't become a fish." Lily rolled her eyes. "I promise. So will you do it?"

"Of course I will!" Ally said, "I just don't _ever_ want to become a fish... that would be really awkward."

"You will!" Lily shrieked in delight and hugged her friend. "Thanks Ally! You're the best."

"I know it." Ally said simply. "Everyone loves me. So what exactly is involved in becoming a part of the animal kingdom?"

Lily went to the beginning of the book and flipped through the pages.

"It's all a very complex process." she said quickly, "First there's a trance involved where your true form is revealed. After that you have to do a meditation every once and a while. Do you want to get this done the safe way or the fast way?"

"Fast," Ally said, "I'm not going to live long after all."

"Well then, you'll have to meditate everyday. Morning, noon and night. It'll be strenuous, almost like learning occlumency. Then we'll have to brew a potion for the first time we transform. That has a lot of magical elements involved. If we mess up we have to brew it again. I can't imagine what the side effect would be..."

"Get on with it."

"Right! After the potion we try it for the first time ourselves. It should be easy after we do the potion."

Ally stared at Lily.

"It doesn't _sound_ easy. It sounds hard as hell!" she said, "How soon can we complete this? Is it still legal?"

"Er—"

"What was that?"

"Well... This way has been banned for a while... It was made illegal in the eighteenth century. The laws say that it's too dangerous to be attempted."

Ally looked a Lily incredulously.

"Why did they say that it was too dangerous?"

"Well, it isn't really dangerous when it's done properly..." Lily said sheepishly, "Its very time consuming... We'll have to be very precise in how we meditate. The only reason why it was banned was because the wizards who wanted to become Animagi didn't have the time to do all the work. They rushed it and then they tried to transform... Not a pleasant effect."

"The one wizard who had it banned was a Ministry official. He claimed that it was outdated and hired a bunch of Magical Inventors to invent a new plan, called the _Five Year Study of the Wizards Animagus From_. It's very long, but it only makes you meditate once a week. Something like that is more the Marauder's style."

"Apparently when the wizard died it was discovered that he had a rabbit tail. Funny story really, anyway this method became ancient history..."

"Thanks for the History of Magic preview," Ally said, "So are we going to do this trance thing or not?"

"We are... But it takes a long incantation... I'll have to work on my Latin and so will you. I can do that part for both of us, and I can do the potion, it was my idea and I'm just dragging you along for the ride."

"What about the Patronus?"

"We can switch off. While I work on my Patronus, you work on the incantation. While you work on your Patronus, I'll work on my incantation. If we devote one hour a day, we should be able to manage the incantation by the end of the school year."

"How long do you think it will take?"

"This method?" Lily asked.

"No... The method the monkey suggested." Ally said, "Yes, this method."

"Into the middle of September if we start next week."

Quidditch...

The stands at the Quidditch pitch were packed to the last inch of space. Lily and Ally had front row seats next to Sam. Sam was sitting in the Gryffindor seats and it was the first Quidditch game she had been to all year. Ally and Lily had to beg her to come along. It was their only chance to really talk. Professors had put an anti-note jinx on all the desks.

It was a bright sunny day in March, warming up to spring's expectations. The Whomping Willow was blooming in the distance just in the far corner of the Hogwarts Grounds. A bit farther away you could see Hagrid's Hut. Ally thought she saw smoke coming from the chimney and wondered if she should tell Hagrid, who was in the Gryffindor stands. Finally she decided that Hagrid _always_ had _something_ on fire. It was Hagrid after all - she really liked that giant.

In the distance, the floating black Dementor guards could be seen gliding across the countryside. Ally shuddered and looked up at the commentator's podium searching for Dumbledore. He sat in the middle of a throng of professors who were talking to him. His eyes were twinkling but they lacked the normal enthusiasm that was usually present. Ally assumed that his energies were all going toward the war effort. It was rumored that Dumbledore was planning something big to fight against Voldemort. Why else would he be in his office so often, flipping through old files and re-reading old documents again and again? He must have been looking for something important, something that would change the direction that the war was currently going.

Ally watched the old Headmaster laugh at joke that Slughorn had just told him. She sorely wished that the game would start soon; she was staring to think too much.

Almost as though her mind had been read the game was announced. Up in the commentator's stadium the seventh year George Jordon had begun the game.

"Coming out of the right side of the stadium in their gold and scarlet robes is the Gryffindor team, captained by Jerry Wood!"

Huge cheers came from the stands as the Gryffindor team came into view and lined up. On the opposite side, Hufflepuff supporters (which included Slytherins who wanted to see Gryffindor get beaten), erupted in shouts and applause when the Hufflepuff team appeared.

"On the other side, Hufflepuff, whose captain is Amos Diggory. He's has just been offered a spot on the Appleby Arrows Quidditch team—Captains line up!"

Ally could distantly see Josey Jenkins the Quidditch teacher for first years and the normal referee. She was speaking with the captains and Ally had no doubt she was telling them to play fair. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had an old Quidditch rivalry that was almost as big as Slytherin versus Gryffindor, almost...

Ally focused back on the game that had just begun...

**(A/N Hi! Wow, I can update fast! I'm shocking myself. Can you believe that I'm writing a chapter a day? Who'd have figured...?)**


	20. Chapter 20 George Jordan

**(A/N I am sooooooo glad that these last couple of chapters have been good. **

**I have to agree with reviewers that the last three chapters have been the best. Every time I wrote previously it seemed like I was struggling with words and adding too much detail. It made the writing halting and didn't really flow. This, in my world, is much better.**

**I would Love some questions in your reviews!)**

Chapter-20 George Jordan

"The Quaffle is released and immediately taken in possession by the Gryffindor Chaser James Potter. Potter is traveling down the Pitch as fast as the newest model of Nimbus can go. He got it for Christmas... Lucky rich bas—"

"JORDAN!"

"Right. He dodges the swerves and snatches from Cauldwell and Jones, the Hufflepuff Chasers. Beater and Captain, Diggory, is aiming to shoot a bludger at Potter and—and—Black blocks it. Suppose it's nice to have friends on the pitch... But! Wallace Whitby, the other Hufflepuff beater, beats it straight back and Potter dodges it. Diggory beats it back. Wallace beats it to Diggory. Why! THEY'RE PLAYING PING PONG WITH POTTER IN THE MIDDLE! Potter's approaching the goal line while dodging the bludger from the beaters. He's coming in fast on the left and—"

The Hufflepuff stands on the other side of the field jumped for joy as the Keeper blocked the shot.

"—a spectacular save by Andy Abbot puts Hufflepuff in possession of the Quaffle. Great Defense by the Hufflepuff team, the lousy bunch of stuck up—"

"JORDAN!"

"Right, sorry Professor. You see, everyone, last year I was shot down by Carol Cauldwell, the first chaser for Hufflepuff. I guess I'm still a little sour—

"JORDAN!"

The commentator's podium went silent for a moment and then George's voice came back onto the microphone.

"Well, I'm back and I have detention Friday, but who cares! I'll just skip anyway. The Hufflepuff chaser, the gorgeous Meredith Madley, is racing down the center pitch. She's ducking low. What tactic is this? The beaters are on both sides of her! Don't they have the rest of the team to protect?"

Shouts of disapproval came from the Hufflepuff stands as the Keeper, Andy Abbot, was hit violently in the arm by a bludger. Ally winced. _That looked painful._

"Well, guess it paid off. Hufflepuff leads the game ten to zero. Looks like Fred Hooper, the Gryffindor Keeper, is taking this very hard. Just so you ladies know, he's single--Gryffindor team captain, Wood, is signaling for something. Oh! I've never seen this play before. Looks like the Chasers are flying in a circle and tossing the Quaffle to each other. Potter to Wood to Towler back to Wood to Potter who chucks it back to Towler to Wood to Potter and this is mighty confusing! The Quaffle is all but a blur and it looks like the Beaters are confused. Wait! The circle is breaking up! All three chasers are approaching the goal! Who has the Quaffle! The Hufflepuff Keeper looks confused, and Abbot is calling for help from his chasers, but they're too busy being attacked by bludgers from the Gryffindor beaters. GOAL! GRYFFINDOR TIES WITH HUFFLEPUFF!"

Gryffindors supporters raged on in the stands. Cheering and shouting for more goals. Ally saw James whirl around and high-five Sirius.

"Well, it looks like Potter had the Quaffle after all. It's Hufflepuff in possession of the Quaffle. Chaser Jack Jones, or JJ as he is referred to by any of his female fans, is speeding down the pitch with his two other female chasers by his side. And—what's this?—they're diving? Where's the Quaffle? Jones certainly doesn't have it. It looks like Diggory is trying to say to Wood that he's not the only one who can hide the Quaffle. Gryffindor beaters Stimpson and Black lob a bludger at the group and they're broken up. Stimpson goes after Cauldwell—Hey mate! That's my girl! And it looks like Cauldwell is trying to signal me—Oooh—that's not polite."

"Anyway, Black took over chasing Meredith with his bat. Jones is flying in circles and the Quaffle is nowhere to be seen. And—OUCH!"

The Hufflepuff stands groaned. Meredith was just knocked off halfway off her broom by a bludger shot by Sirius.

"Madam Jenkins is calling for a penalty. Hufflepuff chaser Meredith was in fact the chaser with the Quaffle. Whether she gets the goal or not depends on how bad that bludger hit her! Madley is lining up for her goal, she shoots!"

The stands were roaring with cheers and Ally had to clamp her hands over her ears. Looking at her watch it was shouting along with the rest of the crowd "IT'S TIME TO WIN!"

Ally rolled her eyes and turned back to the game.

"An amazing save was done by Gryffindors own Fred Hooper! Excellent, excellent, that'll show you Carol Cauldwell! Seeker Donna McDonald dodges a bludger, she and Zeller, the Hufflepuff seeker, are still in a mad search for the snitch. Anyway, Chaser Kevin Towler is in possession of the Quaffle. He's dodging endless attacks from the Hufflepuff beaters, Diggory and Whitby. Towler is speeding down the pitch; he's unstoppable and is easily the fastest player out there! Towler's approaching the goal fast! GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR! THEY LEAD TWENTY TO TEN!"

"What a match this is coming to be. Cauldwell, my ex, is in possession of the Quaffle and the Hufflepuff Captain and beater, Amos Diggory, is following close behind his chaser. She's high up on the pitch, what is she thinking? Is she going to drop the Quaffle in the goal? A Bludger hit over there by Black is heading straight forward, it looks like Diggory was expecting that. He easily chucks it toward the Keeper. Fred Hooper takes it hard in the gut! That looked like it hurt. Cauldwell dives quickly, looks like she's going to make the goal with Hooper injured and—and—I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

Ally and Lily, forgetting their old grudges with Potter, jumped for joy when James managed to steal the Quaffle straight from Cauldwell's hands, and cheered along with the rest of the Gryffindor supporters.

"Potter's racing fast down the field, along with Towler and Wood. Potter passes to Wood, Wood passes to Towler. Towler passes to no one and its hit back by Black's beater's bat. Funny that Potter is on the far right of the hoops. The Keeper is prepared! Potter makes a dangerously low pass to Wood! AND WOOD SCORES! GRYFFINDOR LEADS THIRTY TO TEN!"

"Hufflepuff beater—and—why does it seem to be getting dark all of a sudden? Hufflepuff beater Diggory is mad he seems to be shouting for Carol and Jones. You know Carol; I would never treat you that way, seriously."

"JORDAN!"

"Anyway the Chasers seem hesitant to approach him a—what the? Oh no..."

The sky was dark and story around the pitch. A few minutes ago it was a sun shiny day and now... The dark figures of the countryside were looming in closer to the pitch then Ally could remember. Ally felt cold, cold and darkness was settling in around her.

She had no idea what was happening, the world was going numb around her.

_Ally was running through the forest... Getting closer and closer to a dead end and she heard growling behind her. Sticks and branches were scratching her face; her eyes were blurred from tears. She was being chased... She heard a gunshot behind her..._

People were screaming and trying to get out of the stands. Ally could faintly see a figure falling. She was being pushed and shoved. Ally was finally rammed into the railing that separated the stands from the pitch. She teetered dangerously over the side and screamed. Lily heard and pulled her back onto the benches.

A great blast sounded from the commentator's podium. The school silenced and watched as a silver light emitted from Dumbledore and the figure Ally saw earlier floated down to the ground.

Ally watched the commentator's podium with rapt attention. There was silver light flowing out from Dumbledore's wand that was encircling the pitch. The light was fighting against the Dementors and they were being forced back into the countryside. A low hum was coming from the light.

Dumbledore was standing now, towering over the wizards and witches around him. Ally had no doubt that he really _was_ the most powerful wizard in the world. Not only did he look powerful, by he was terrifying. His eyes crackled with unseen power beneath the surface.

"STUDENTS!" Dumbledore said angrily, "WILL WALK BACK TO THEIR RESPECTIVE DORMITORIES! PREFECTS WILL LEAD THEM! ANYONE WHO DOES NOT WALK STRAIGHT TO THE CASTLE WILL BE FACING EXTREME PUNISHMENT!"

His voice shook the entire Quidditch pitch. Lily jumped into action and she began to shepherd the first and second years around her to the exit. Ally was breathing slowly. Sam's face came into view.

"Are you okay, Al?" she asked, concerned, "You blanked out for a while."

"I'm fine..." Ally breathed deeply, "I just need a minute, Stay here?"

"Sure." Sam said and held out her hand.

Ally stood up with the help of Sam and they waited on the side of the stands for the crowd to pass.

"What happened?" Ally rubbed her head; she was getting a massive headache.

"Dementors came in to close to the stands... That's why it went dark..." Sam shuddered visibly, "Those things shouldn't be allowed so near the pitch."

"I have a funny feeling..." Ally said, "That they _aren't_ allowed this close to the stands. That's why Dumbledore is so mad."

Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the pitch watching the students file out. How he got there so fast was a mystery. No one could apparate in or out of Hogwarts grounds, but he always managed to be everywhere at once.

"Are you going to be alright?' Sam said, "You were hit pretty hard in the head."

"I was?" Ally asked, "Thanks for telling me. That would explain the throbbing headache..."

"Why did you go frigid?"

"Later..." Ally said, watching Dumbledore "Let's get out of here."

They left the stands after the last of the Gryffindors filed out. Ally and Sam walked slowly back to the castle in silence. Professors were guarding the path to the castle; they all had a weary eye watching the dark floating figures in the countryside.

They marched with the rest of the school and ran up to walk next to Lily. In silence, they entered the grand entry doors of the castle and helped Lily lead the younger students to the portrait hole. Ally, Sam and Lily looked around to see if anyone was watching and then left the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"It's a joyous occasion when Dementors attack isn't it?" Ally said spitefully as they entered the room Ally had found the other day.

Careful not to tread on the rug that would change the room into something else, Ally sat down on a cushy armchair.

"Where did you find this room?" Sam asked, fingering a tapestry on the wall.

Ally shrugged.

"I don't know... I just found it one day while I was wandering the halls. Be careful about jumping on the rug, though."

"Why what happens?" Lily said.

"The room will change into something else; it happens every time I come here, it's completely random." Ally said. "One day you'll jump on it and it'll turn into a bedroom, the next day it'll turn into a kitchen. But it's always, _always_ a common room when you first walk in."

"Have you tried jumping on it twice?" Sam looked around the room with curiosity, evaluating each wall and piece of furniture.

"Well..." Ally stopped, "Er... no?"

Sam sighed.

"I think I know why you're _obviously_ not in Ravenclaw..."

"Gee... thanks." Ally said and lay down across the armchair, throwing her legs over the arm rest.

Ally watched Lily, who had remained silent for most of the conversation.

"Hello? Lily?"

"This is _not_ good." Lily buried her face in her hands. "This is really not a good."

"No, I expect everyone loves a good Dementor attack every once and a while..."

"Not that, Diggory!" Lily said and sank onto the couch.

"He's fine," Sam said, "Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to his students. Especially when there's Dementors involved."

"Listen," Lily said sternly, "If the Dementors attack now, whose saying they won't do it again. The cheering from the Quidditch pitch was loud, sure, but that's not what attracted Dementors there in the first place. It's because we were happy."

"Dementors feed off of your every happy thought." Sam interrupted.

"Yes, they do. If you'd let me say that." Lily said. "A large amount of people were at the Quidditch pitch today, Right?"

"Right," Ally said.

"Well, people were there earlier. Why didn't the Dementors attacked during practice?"

"Because it wasn't a large amount of people, like you said."

"Right! The feeling was amplified so the Dementors felt an undeniable pull to the pitch, even though they were way out there in the countryside!"

"Are you leading up to something or not?" Ally said sourly.

"What I'm saying is the Dementors will attack again when we Hogwarts students get together outside of the castle."

"But the Quidditch pitch will definitely be guarded after what happened today, right?" Sam predicted, "The Diggory's are an influential family. People will sympathize with them and there will be guards at the next match."

"We already know that." Ally said, "I think Lily is taking about something else."

"I'm talking about Hogsmeade."

"What? Hogsmeade?" Sam exclaimed, "What does that have to do with the Quidditch pitch?"

"Everything," Ally said, "All the attention will be on protecting Hogwarts' precious Quidditch players, the next Quidditch game, in a couple of weeks. Dementors won't be able to get anywhere near the pitch. So when the Hogsmeade trip rolls around the corner, they'll be starving for some happy thoughts."

"No one will be guarding the town and they'll swoop in." Lily picked up.

"We should tell Dumbledore." Ally said.

"Don't you think he already knows?" Lily said incredulously, "This isn't the Headmaster's fault; it's the Ministries involvement in Hogwarts!"

"She's right." Sam said matter-of-factly, "No one in the ministry is going to listen to a couple of sixteen year olds..."

"We should talk about what Ally and I were planning earlier..." Lily said.

"What was that?" Sam inquired.

It took a while to fully explain to Sam what Ally and Lily had in mind to protect themselves against the Dementors. Being a Ravenclaw, she always wanted to get a word in edgewise on the situation. She was particularly interested in learning about the Dementors and how to defend against them. When they came to the Animagus subject Sam jumped up to disagree.

"That's absurd!" Sam shouted, "You're going to use an illegal practice that has a thousand chances to go wrong, and you're going to do it while there's a war going on and anything can happen?"

"Well... when you put it _that_ way." Ally said.

"No to mention you two aren't even of age yet. You have N.E.W.T.s to study for!" Sam shrieked.

"Most of the time we spend on this will be in the summer. And beside what you just said almost strengthens our point." Lily pointed out, "The practice is only illegal because of some mad ministry official who botched the work, and only because he didn't have the time to do it properly. We _do_ have the time to do this properly; it _won't _go wrong at all."

"And we will be turning seventeen over the summer holidays, or at least I will." Ally said.

"I'll be seventeen in June." Lily added.

"I don't honestly care, you shouldn't do this but I know I can't stop you."

Sam sighed and closed her eyes. Seemingly lost in thought, Ally and Lily waited for her to finish her statement.

"I refuse to have anything to do with the Animagus transformations..." she sated firmly.

Ally sighed, she had a feeling Sam would say that, she was actually hoping that she would do this with them. It was a foolish hope after all.

"But I will help you adamantly with your Patronuses. That really interests me. So," she raised her eyebrows and smiled at her two friends. "When can we start?"

"Now, we can start now." Lily smiled. "I'll go get the books we need. I was planning for us to start this tonight anyways..."

Without another word she ran out of the room and left Sam and Ally alone.

"So." Ally said.  
"So." Sam mimicked.

"Do you want to jump on the rug?"

A few minutes later Lily entered the room to complete chaos. Sam and Ally were stomping on the rug in turns while the scenery around her transfigured before her eyes.

_Quidditch field..._

STOMP!  
_Classroom..._

STOMP!

_Garden..._

STOMP!

_Room full of feathers..._

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Ally and Sam stopped jumping onto the rug and looked at Lily like they hadn't noticed she was in the room before then.

"Jumping on the rug, it changes the room around..."Ally said.

Lily rolled her eyes and slammed her books onto the table in front of them. Feathers flew up around her, making her more intimidating.

"I _thought_ you two would be getting ready for this..."

"Oh," Ally hopped off the rug and Sam followed, "Sorry, it's really fun though. Hold on one second..."

Ally jumped onto the rug one more time and the room transformed into a library with a dueling ring on the right side.

"I think the room knows what we need when we jump on it." Ally said, "When I found this room it turned into a kitchen and a bedroom because I was hungry and tired. Isn't this cool? But I think it only has a limited amount of rooms, it repeats sometimes."

"Well..." Lily scrunched up her nose, "We should get to work."

She handed the book about advanced incantations to Sam and pointed out the page about the Patronus.

"Everything you need to know about the Patronus is there. Ally will work with you first. I'll be writing down the incantation we need to know to get into the trance. The trance will show us the Animagi form we will turn into."

"Whatever you do, though, Ally," Lily warned, "Do not attempt to say the incantation out loud yet. Only say it in pieces or fragments. You don't want to know what will happen if you say it incorrectly and out loud."

"Alright, already," Ally said, "I won't say it out loud. Now can we get started?"


	21. Chapter 21 Ally's Patronus

**(A/N Back stories! Yay! Back stories! Ah, the joy of being a writer. I think this has got to be the most descriptive I've ever gotten with one character. Remember, I love reviews!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, only my OC(s). This Disclaimer applies to the entirety of this fic.**

Chapter 21-Ally's Patronus

The Dementor in the dueling ring was not a real Dementor. Ally just couldn't seem to convince herself that it wasn't. It affected her in the same way the others did. She went cold and then motionless. Sam had to shake her out of the trance every time.

"No, no, and no." Sam said. "You have to think of a powerful memory, something happy! Think of something happy!"

"Okay! I know!" Ally shouted. "It's not that easy for me! I keep on trying different memories but none of them work!"

"Would you two be quiet!" Lily shouted across the room

Her nose was stuffed into her book and papers were scattered around her. Latin phonetic papers were written and posted up around the small library. The books were all written about Animagus transformation and the Latin language.

"I'm sorry, okay!" Ally glared at Lily.

Lily sighed and went back to memorizing the words written in her book.

Ally was tired of failing against the fake Dementor that the room provided. She was tired of revisiting her worst memory over and over again. She didn't mind the words 'Expecto Patronum.' That wasn't what was getting on her nerves... She could say them perfectly, but when the Dementor appeared out of thin air, she just... forgot about everything around her and _everyone_ around her. On the practice runs the silver light had flowed out of there wand easily and she happily gained confidence from that. Of course, thinking about defeating a Dementor wasn't really _doing_ it.

Sam was quickest of them to progress. Her Patronus didn't die as soon as the Dementor appeared. In fact, once she even produced a Corporeal Patronus. It was a Raven. _Typical, _Ally had thought, _she really is a true Ravenclaw, probably a descendant of Rowena herself._

Lily had gotten good enough to produce a figure too. It couldn't be considered Corporeal though, no one could quiet make out what it was yet. Ally thought it looked like a sheep, Sam had guessed a deer, and Lily thought that it was a stallion. She had told them how she always thought that stallions were beautiful. Ally always knew that she had a fetish for the country life.

Lily and Sam had started to speculate on what Ally's Patronus would be.

"It is a protector," said Lily in an informative voice. "Chances are, it's something that you have a personal connection too."

"Okay, let's think," Said Sam. "What's the most rude and sarcastic animal in the animal—"

She was cut off as Ally threw the book on the Gaunt Family at her.

Ally was still reading obsessively about Riddle, though it wasn't her top priority. The things that Ally found in the book were suspicious. Times and places were written down on pieces of paper stuck in the middle for he book. I was useless to dwell on these dates, from what Ally could tell about how the paper had aged, they had passed along time ago. Comments were written in the columns on the side, next to important people in the Gaunt family there were little side notes like "useless idiot" or "bribed the ministry". Whoever had written all over this book obviously didn't think to highly of the Gaunt family. At other times they seemed to be humored by their efforts.

From what Ally could tell, she thought that they adored Salazar Slytherin. They wrote endlessly about his accomplishments within the school and about his pet 'snake'. The word snake was always in quotation marks, like the writer was enjoying an inside joke with themselves. Odd things were scribbled on the sides at random moments. They didn't correspond with what was written on the page and they didn't even make sense at times. Letters were listed in assorted patterns and orders. On the chapter about how the Gaunt family had swindled away their fortune were the letters...

"V—E--L—D—M—"and than a scribble, "—L—R—O—

"

Ally had to stop herself from over analyzing the book at times. The thing that she was focusing upon the most was getting her Patronus to appear. There was no doubt in her mind what the animal would be. But Hogsmeade was fast approaching and she was too far behind Lily and Sam for comfort. Her incantation for her Animagi form was coming along nicely, not as great as Lily'S, but that was expected since Lily was the top in the class.

True to Sam's prediction, the Diggory's were angry at the ministry. Dumbledore was present at all Quidditch games following the match against Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff had forfeited the game to Gryffindor and Gryffindor was now in the lead for the Quidditch cup. Security at Quidditch practices also increased. James was complaining constantly about how Madam Jenkins didn't have enough time for all the practices they had to fit in. The game against Slytherin was in a few weeks, after Hogsmeade, and there was a race between Quidditch teams to see who could book the pitch more.

The times that Ally, Sam and Lily met to work were starting to be consistent. A week into April, Lily finally completed her Corporeal Patronus.

"Now," Lily said happily, pulling Ally over to the dueling ring, "You are going to stay in the ring and with our help; you're going to be able to produce a Corporeal Patronus."

Lily shoved Ally into the ring and Sam laughed as Ally looked around, confused. Lily laughed too and Ally shook her head. _They like to do this to me, don't they..._

"I've been reading—"

"That's a surprise."

"—About mental blocks with Dementors, Ally." Sam said. "Listen, you obviously don't want to deal with whatever it is that's bothering you. So, we've decided that you can either face whatever it is with us helping you. Or you can have you're soul sucked out by a Dementor..."

"You can see why we picked to try this method first." Lily said. "If we let you get sucked up then we would never find out what was wrong. It would bother us terribly."

"Sure, curiosity would kill you. Not the guilt that you left a friend to die."

"Exactly," Sam said, "Glad you're seeing it our way."

"So," Lily said, "Let me hear you say the incantation, "And remember to exaggerate the 'pec' and the 'tro."

"Expecto Patronum." Ally said dully but correctly.

"Perfect!" Lily said, "Now we just need to let out the Dementor!"

"Wha—?"

Lily shushed her.

"This is for your own good."

"I don't think—"

"You can think?" Sam asked

"Let it out, Sam!" Lily shouted.

Sam waved her wand and the room accommodated by allowing a dark and billowy figure into the room. Ally's insides went cold and her eyes were covered by a black cloud that was slowly covering her mind. The Dementor approached threateningly.

Ally shouted and stumbled back.

"Say the incantation!" Lily shouted.

"Think of your happy memory!"

"Do something! No wonder you can't get this!"

"The memory! The memory!" Sam cried.

Ally couldn't hear them though. Her eyes were totally covered in darkness, and soon after, she fell to the ground, once again she heard growling and a gunshot before it all went black.

Ally sat up and rubbed her head. The Dementor was gone, leaving Ally in the middle of the dueling ring. Lily and Sam were sitting next to her on the floor. Lily looked concerned and Sam looked skeptical, jumping between annoyed and confused. Ally's head felt like someone had taken a hammer and an anvil and banged it against her head for an hour. Ally wondered how long she had been out. She crossed her head and found her wand on the floor.

"You were out for a few minutes..." Lily said slowly, her voice rung in Ally's head, "We were going to go to Madam Pomfrey but..."

Lily waved her hand at the books and scrolls about Animagus and then gestured at the large books from the restricted section.

"We would have gone in a couple of more minutes if you hadn't woken up."

Sam held out a bar of chocolate to Ally and Ally took it, giving her a grateful look. Honeydukes finest melted quickly in her mouth and Ally sighed as the warmth ran from her head to her toes.

"What does chocolate do?" Lily asked while Ally devoured the rest of the bar of chocolate.

"Frumpthin gooth." Ally said through a mouthful.

"Remus showed it to me," Sam said blushing, "It's supposed to help with the after effects of an encounter with a Dementor."

"So you and Remus get together and eat chocolate, and the rest of the school was gossiping that you like to snog." Ally sighed dramatically but the affect was ruined because she was licking the chocolate off her fingers "I'm going to hate having to break this news to them. They'll be crushed, especially the Hufflepuffs."

Sam blushed and looked at Ally critically.

"At least I don't have a breakdown when something dark and dreary approaching me."

Ally sneered at her.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Because you haven't told us," Sam stated smartly, "That's your problem."

"Go read a book." Ally said coldly, "Since it seems that's all your good for."

"Ally!" Lily scolded.

"I'll figure it out by myself." Ally said.

"Well," Sam said sharply, "You don't seem to be doing a great job by yourself. This is the first time you've ever blacked out. It doesn't seem like whatever you're doing is working."

"Fighting with Ally doesn't help either, Sam." Lily said.

"Well, what do you suppose we should do about her?" Sam said.

"I'm right here, you know."

"We should ask about what's been bothering her."

"FINE!" Ally shouted, "DO YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT'S BEEN BOTHERING ME! DO YOU! HUH?"

"Yes." Lily said calmly.

"FINE!" Ally took a couple of deep breaths. "Fine."

"When I was little my dad had a really big fascination with the muggle way of hunting. We were still in France then and we lived in the country. My mother never encouraged going out hunting. It was dangerous. I really wished I had listened to her then. But I was a defiant child and never paid any attention to the rules."

"One day, a wild wolf was loose in the countryside. It might have been a werewolf, I can't remember. All I remember was that a bunch of the muggles from the small town near us came to our house. They had heard my father lived in the forest and had come to warn us. My father had told me and my mother to stay in the house. He went out with the other men, hunting. They were gone for a long time, it was hours. My mother had fallen asleep. And... Her wand was in her pocket. I saw it there. I stared at it a while and then made my decision."

"I stole it. I stole the wand. I never knew how stupid that was. I just pocketed it and ran out of the house. It was dark by then...Very dark. The forest was eerily silent. I started to get scared. I was only six years old and I was lost in the forest. I hear gunshots and started to run. Then there was growling behind me and I started to run faster and faster. The wand in my pocket fell to the forest floor. I didn't even notice until I found it later. Before I thought it would be the ultimate defense, but then... It was just a piece of wood to me."

"I knew that the wolf had found me. I was going to die. My arms and my legs were getting scratched up. I only wished I had been smart enough at the time to know not to run against the wind. My scent was easily tracked by the wolf."

"I had been out there a hundred times before, playing in the forest with my friends from the muggle town near us. I suppose that's how I learned so much about the muggle world. Anyway, I was running straight into a clearing. The wolf would catch me and I would be eaten. That's how a six year old mind works. So I started to panic and scream but that only drove the wolf closer."

"I ran to the clearing and clambered up the tree closest to me. But I wasn't a fast climber. The wolf caught onto the bottom of my dress and it was pulling my farther down. That was when I looked back."

"It was huge... that's the only thing I remember. There was blood on its giant crooked teeth and he was drooling. He had a mad look. His fur was matted and stained with blood and dirt and he had bite marks all over the place. He had these huge, terrifying, yellow bloodshot eyes. They looked almost human, intelligent in a way an animal could never be. Now that I think about it, it had to be a werewolf. And when I had turned around, I looked straight into them. I was paralyzed, the wolf realized I wasn't going to move and gave me one last tug. I fell to the ground..."

Ally trailed off, her eyes were cold and distant. She could almost feel the wolf's eyes on her.

"Go on." Lily said.

"I heard a roar before I crashed to the ground. There was a bear, it was brown. It looked beautiful to me. The wolf wasn't afraid though. It just looked at it. The bear reared on its hind legs and smacked the wolf on the nose. I realized my chance and climbed as fast as I could to the higher braches of the tree."

"The wolf and the bear were fighting viciously. I started to call for help. I called for my father. I called for everyone I ever knew, even my dead great grandmother. The fighting died down after a while. The wolf slunk away but not too far away from my tree. He prowled the edges and I was afraid he would get to me. Whenever he got anywhere near me the bear would give a great big growl and her would slink away again. This stopped for a while and the wolf was waiting, I think he was waiting for the bear to go away. I was afraid the bear would go away."

"But then the bear looked up at me and—and it looked like it was watching over me. I guess I fell asleep after that. I knew the bear was never going to leave me alone. I felt safe with it there. I felt happy, happier than ever when it looked up at me. I think I may have known it once before... in a dream at least."

"My father found me in the morning. He said that they had shot the wolf down by the creek. I never asked how the wolf could have gotten down to the creek when he was up there in the mountains watching me in the tree. I honestly don't even think that it was the same wolf. But I never dared tell my father that. My mother was broken up enough as it was when I got home. I kept the fact that the wolf was alive to myself."

"But w-whenever I l-look at the Dementors... I just f-freeze... All I can see... is...is..."

Ally had a few tears running down her eyes. They streaked her cheeks and fell to the floor.

"His eyes." Sam said wisely, "You can only see his eyes."

"And I can't move, I just can't..." Ally said pathetically.

"Alright then," Sam stood up. She held out her hand to Ally, who took it.

"I think I know what you've got to do." Sam said determinedly. "This time that the Dementor comes out, don't look at me that way, it's going to come out. I want you to focus on that bear looking up at you. Focus on your bear. And then say the incantation. Expecto Patronum."

"Expecto Patronum." Ally repeated sadly.

"Perk up!" Lily said cheerfully, "You'll do fine!"

"Are you sure about that?" Ally said, "I don't catch onto things very fast."

"You'll catch onto this like...like..."

"Sam to Remus?"

"Exactly!" Lily said.

"Hey!" Sam said, "Just for that I'm releasing it now."

The waved her wand and the Dementor appeared all too quickly for Ally. She felt her insides grow cold and immediately thought that this wasn't a good idea. She jumped backwards and raised her wand.

"Think of the bear!" Sam shouted.

Ally searched her head for the memory that had resided in the back of her mind for ten years. Suddenly, it became all too real. She felt the protective gaze of the bear below her and the words flowed out of her mouth like magic. Funny, it was magic.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The silver light burst out of her wand and a hum filled the room. Standing before her, was her very own bear, with a few minor differences, of course. This bear wasn't brown... it was silver, all silver. The light was blinding as it ran against the Dementor and the dark figure retreated.

Sam shouted for joy and Lily was jumping up and down.

"You did it!' Lily squealed in delight. "You finished off the Dementors!"

Sam waved her wand and grinned as the Dementor disappeared. The bear roared in triumph and looked back at Ally. Ally watched the bear in fascination as it licked its claws. When it was sitting, it was about her height. She looked eye to eye with it and smiled.

"Alright, " Lily said. "I think it's time to say goodbye to the Patronus bear."

"Good bye Patronus bear." Ally said happily, "I'll see you soon."

She waved her wand and the bear left the room. Ally could've sworn she saw it wink at her.

"Now get back to work on your incantations." Lily said sternly.

Ally groaned.

"I hate making an effort..."

**(A/N : My sister found this particularly twisted typo in this chapter. In the sentence _When I was little my dad had a really big fascination with the muggle way of hunting_, I originally wrote _When I was little my dad had a really big fascination with muggle hunting_. My sister found that this original copy was dark and disturbing. The term 'muggle hunting' implied that Ally's family enjoyed bursting into the nearest pub and Avada Kadavra'ing the local muggles. This was not so. We had a good laugh and then changed it. However, muggle hunting may appear in later chapters as a joke. Just a forewarning. )**


	22. Chapter 22 Hogsmeade Part One

Chapter22-Hogsmeade Part One

Ally sat on the edge of her seat on the carriage to Hogsmeade. Her eyes were glazed and unfocused as she watched rain pour down from outside. The rain streaked the glass window that provided a view outside the carriage. Her mouth was open and she was drooling lightly.

Sitting next to her was Pria, who was having a one sided argument with Lily. Lily was on the opposite side of Ally. She was also staring out of the window. Nodding slightly when Pria made a point and wrinkling her nose when she said something she didn't like. Carla had been as quiet as she normally was, giggling along with everyone else when Ally mumbled something incoherent.

The reason Ally and Lily were unusually tired had something to do with the previous night.

Twelve Hours Earlier.

Gryffindor tower was silent. The only noise that could be heard was the scratching of a quill, the rare squeaks of a disgruntled mouse and furball, and the turning of a page. No one other than Ally was awake and working. Lily had fallen asleep hours ago, claiming that she was too exhausted from N.E.W.T studying and had most of her homework finished anyway.

Books and papers were askew around Ally's bed. Her charms essay lay forgotten at the foot of her bed. Ally's mouse that she was supposed to transfigure into a cactus ran rampant around the room chasing Lily's pink Puffskein. A tower of old library books was stacked hazardously on the night stand next to Ally.

Another page turn and the Puffskein was hiding in Lily's hair. Lily snorted and turned in her sleep

"James..." she muttered and the Puffskein burrowed under the covers.

Ally had to shove a pillow in her mouth to stop laughing out loud. Someday she would work up the courage to tell the fiery red head that she spoke her enemies name in her sleep, someday - when she no longer valued her life.

Ally turned back to the page she was deciphering. The large green and silver book titled _The Family Gaunt_ was resting in front of her on askew her blankets. Ally herself was writing on another piece of paper, attempting to finish her homework while she still could. Hogsmeade was tomorrow and Ally had promised Lily that she would attend... If there really was an attack, Ally and Lily would be there to prevent it. Sam, they weren't sure about her. She said she would be going with Remus and would possibly meet up with them. She was going to be in the area that... was all they knew.

Ally turned another page decorated with random letters and words.. She turned yet another page to find more nonsense writing.

_Flight from—_

_Flight from phoenix._

_Flight from the shadows._

_Flight from life.._

Ally sighed and rolled her eyes. Whatever teenager wrote this obviously needed more to do with their time. She turned the page once more. She knew she was reaching the end of the book. Only a few pages left until the end.

M—O—R—D—E—

_Flight_

A—V—I—A—T—

_From_

D—E—

_Death_

M—U—E—R—T—A

Then there was a large scribble.

_French translation_

V—O—L—D—E

TMRIDMAROLO

Then there was another scribble.

Ally flipped the page over; it was completely blank. The only written words were in slanted letter. The writing seemed resolved, the word was resolved. It was definite and fine. The black ink seeped indefinitely into the page.

_Voldemort._

Ally stared in horror for what seemed like hours at the page. _Voldemort. _The word echoed in her mind. It took her ages for her mind to react. At first she didn't really process what she was reading. All she knew was that she needed to know more.

With a hungry expression on her face, she turned the page once more.

_Lord Voldemort... Yes, I like the title of a Lord._

She turned the page again, searching for more of this mystery. More random letters popped up. Ally grabbed her quill eagerly and snatched a paper from her stack. She copied the letters down with a vengeance.

M—A—I

Ally tore through the back of the book to the last page.

For a moment she didn't react. She simply wore an expression of shock and horror. Green light and the carnage she saw in pictures by the Daily Prophet wrapped around her mind. She froze. _Death Eaters Attack Again... Or Do They? Another Green Skull over Muggle Residents. He—Who—Must—Not—Be—Named Must NOT Be Named. The Dark Lord Strikes Again. War or Not? You—Know—Who Recruits Followers... War... Lord Voldemort._

She went white and threw the book in fear against the wall. But the book rebounded and landed on the floor. The pages rifled in the wind of the open window. Finally it landed on the last page, the only page in the book that Ally truly feared. Below a drawing of a snake entwined with a skull, words in green ink were written.

_I am Lord Voldemort._

A cruel high pitched laughter filled her ears and she screamed as loud as she could. Lights flew on out in the halls and Ally could hear the stomping of feet. Lily tossed aside her covers and took one look at the book on the floor. Her face was pale as she mouthed the words in green ink. Soon, Pria and Carla barged into the room. Ally was still screaming. The book was kicked aside by Pria who went over to Ally's bed to calm her down.

"Al! Ally! Stop it!" Pria shook her by the shoulders and Ally stopped to stare at her. Lily still was frozen at the edge of getting out of her bed. Pria helped Ally take a few calming breaths before going over to Lily to get her out of the trance.

Ally looked feverishly around for the book. She spotted it half covered by their rug. Jumping up, it was awkward to move, she hastily grabbed the book. Forcing herself not to dwell on the final four words, she slammed the book shut with a bang that was louder than she intended it to be.

The girls from other levels of the dormitory were crowding around Lily's and Ally's room to get a good look at what had happened. Lily was finally shaken violently out of her trance. She slowly got up and took the book from Ally's hands. Ally allowed her to look through the final back pages. Stopping briefly when her eyes flickered across the page that expressed how he liked being called lord. She flipped through the nonsensical letters and rested upon the final page. The skull and snake burned through Ally's mind. Ally could not bring herself to look down at the page. After a long while Lily slammed the book shut, also louder than she intended too.

By now the Gryffindor girls were clambering over each other to get a good look at what was going on.

"What's going on?"

"What did Al do now?"

"It's too late in the night for this."

"Somebody get Professor McGonagall."

"What are they doing now?"

"Evans is reading a book!"

"Typical."

"Isn't Ally always reading that book?"

"What's going on her?" commanded Professor McGonagall. "Why are you all doing up and who was screaming?"

The Professor appeared in her nightgown. Her normally neat bun was undone and she was holding her wand up high. She looked frazzled; the scream must have startled her out of sleep.

"Don't ask me."

"It was Lily and Al."

"They're reading a book... Not anymore."

"Maybe it was a horror book."

"Oh! I hate those. Punish them Professor, it doesn't match the Gryffindor colors."

Professor McGonagall stared at the last girl who had spoken and then rolled her eyes.

"Out of the way... Out of the way. Get rid of that gum Joanne. Out of the way."

The crowd stepped to the side and McGonagall's eyes washed over the situation in front of her.

Pria and Carla were standing to the side. Carla was on Ally's bed and Pria was spinning the disco ball on her fingers. Lily still stood, pale as ever with her whole body trembling. Ally was shaking slightly too. Her face was plastered with horror and disgust. She looked down at the hands that previously held the book she had laughed and obsessed over so many times. With a look of fear she held her hand s away from her.

"Oh dear..." she said softly, looking at the state Lily and Ally.

"I take it that you -" she pointed at Ally, though not in a cruel manner, "Screamed."

Ally nodded slowly and placed her hands farther away from her in revulsion. Lily was shaking badly and Professor McGonagall looked worried and weary of them.

"Perhaps you two would like to tell me exactly what happened?" she said cautiously.

Ally shook her head. "No," she said very quickly and violently at the same time Lily whispered a very quiet "No thank you."

"Alright then..." Professor McGonagall took Ally and Lily by one shoulder. "Let's get you two to the hospital wing... Do you want to put that book down?"

She said the last words softly and nearly silently, sensing the weight the book carried.

"**No.**" Lily and Ally both said together. Ally felt drained of energy of explaining. She felt the need to sit down and rest.

Professor McGonagall looked at them both suspiciously and glanced at the book again. Ally saw her gaze and quickly covered the book with a robe she found on the floor. McGonagall raised her eyebrows and then turned to the crowd that was growing by the second in the doorway.

"Move along," she said while shooing them away, "best get to bed, move along now. I told you to get rid of that gum! Get to bed, Hogsmeade is tomorrow."

She turned around to face Pria and Carla after she was certain every last Gryffindor girl that was teeming around the entryway was in their bed.

"You two," she pointed at them, "Get to bed with the rest of your house. You'll need your rest."

"Couldn't we just—"

McGonagall gave her one stern look and Pria went scurrying out the door. Carla gave one last worried look at Lily and Ally before retreating after Pria.

"You two are obviously hiding something..." she said with her lips pursed. "I think a visit to the Headmaster's office will suffice, since you are obviously hiding a book from the restricted section."

Ally looked up at her with a neutral look on her face. Lily watched the defiant exchange of glares before the Professor spoke again.

"I have been to the library many times before. I think, as a teacher, I would know what students are, and are not, allowed to read."

Ally averted her gaze to the side. Lily's eyes were focused on a spot on the wall. Unexpectedly, Lily walked over to the window swiftly. Ally and the Head of House followed her with their eyes.

Lily opened the window, and to everyone's surprise, a red phoenix soared gracefully into the room. The bird trilled lightly and Ally felt herself relax. The phoenix landed on Lily's bed, next to a trembling Puffskein. Ally went over to the phoenix she recognized as Dumbledore's and pulled at the letter that was tied to its foot. It came undone easily and Ally unfolded the letter. She read it out loud to the two other occupants of the room.

_Minerva,_

_If you would please escort Miss Pierce and Miss Evans to my office immediately. We have an important matter to discuss. _

_Albus_

Professor McGonagall sighed and took Lily by the shoulder.

"Are you coming Ally?" she called over her shoulder while exiting the room. Ally stood silent for a moment before running after them. The phoenix bounced lightly up and down on her shoulder as she ran down the stairs. Lily and the Professor were standing in front of a bunch of Gryffindor boys.

The Marauders were next to the seventh years and Ally could hear a few snatches of conversation.

"—heard a scream."

"It was from the Girls' Dormitory."

"There's Professor McGonagall and Lily."

"Al's there too."

"Is she holding a book?"

"Typical."

"Professor, what happened?"

That last comment came from a frazzled James. He was standing, as was everyone else, in his pajamas and was holding his wand out. He was standing next to Lily with a strange look on his face. If Ally didn't know him as the confident, egotistical Potter that he was, she could have sworn that he looked afraid.

He reached out to place a hand on Lily's other shoulder, the shoulder not held by McGonagall. Lily did not recoil at the touch, as she normally would.

Ally went to stand on the other side of the Professor.

"Boys, Boys!" the common room silenced. "Return to your dormitories at once. Hogsmeade is tomorrow and you all need to get some sleep. Fifth years have O.W.L.s and seventh years have N.E.W.T.s. We do not need to lose extra sleep!"

Several disgruntled mutters were made, but the crowd made their way back to their beds. Only the Marauders remained behind. Lily was still shaking slightly and Ally was breathing deeply and muttering to herself.

"Professor," James spoke out, "Maybe we should escort Lily and Al to the Hospital wing?"

He spoke the last few words with a hopeful tone. The Marauders looked up at McGonagall with curiosity. The fire crackled loudly while McGonagall considered her words.

"I don't think that's—"

"What a wonderful idea."

Ally, Lily, McGonagall and the Marauders all wheeled around to look at the portrait hole.

There stood Albus Dumbledore. His beard was a dull white and he looked tired. His pajama style blue robes were crinkled slightly. Holding his wand, he stepped forward and repeated what he said.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." his voice came as a shock to Ally, for once, Dumbledore sounded... _old_. "But I must say we cannot have the entire group of Marauders out and abroad. How about just our young Mr. Potter? He can escort these two young ladies back to the Gryffindor tower once I am down talking to them."

"That is... of course... if you don't mind?"

That last question was directed at James who shook his head and tightened his grip on Lily's shoulder. Lily did not react. Dumbledore stood and watched as the rest of the Marauders left the common room to go back to bed. As they were leaving Sirius mouthed 'talk to me later' to Ally. Ally nodded slowly and breathed deep.

"Now..." said Dumbledore, "Follow me. Minerva, I don't believe we need you to accompany us on this trip. They will have me with them."

Professor McGonagall nodded and took that as her sign to leave.

James took Ally's arm, while holding Lily's shoulder, and steered them out of the common room after Dumbledore.

The halls of the castle were dark. Ally's favorite suits of armor, that she normally loved to talk to, looked menacing with their spades and swords. The torches on the walls cast tall shadows that danced frighteningly against the stone walls. Ally shivered and Lily must have felt the same way because she shuddered rubbed her arms for warmth. James noticed and gave her his cloak before latching onto the both of them again.

Ally couldn't help but smile, no matter how wrong the moment was, it was cute to see them like that. Lily was going to kill her later if she ever mentioned this. The simple motion by James brought Lily out of her stupor and she looked at him in surprise, just realizing he was there. Lily looked at Ally and stared at her.

"The book was—"

"Ah," Dumbledore interrupted, "Here we are."

Ally and Lily stood in front of white stone gargoyle. Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke the password.

"Candied Strawberries."

He looked back at the three Gryffindors standing behind him and led them up the stone steps. He motioned for them to enter his office. Ally collapsed into her favorite cushy chair in front of the large wooden desk. Dumbledore took his usual seat facing them and James took care to help Lily to her next to Ally. James then sat down close to Lily.

Dumbledore took a bowl in front of his desk and held it out in front of Ally and Lily.

"Lemon drop?"

It wasn't a question, it was an order. Ally and Lily both took a lemon drop and slowly placed it in their mouths. Ally wondered if the lemon drop was mixed with a potion because she immediately felt herself relax, the thoughts in her mind cleared and she could see clearly. Lily was now fully awake next to her and was blinking. Her eyes fell onto the book she was carrying.

She shrieked at the sight of it and tossed it from her hands. With reflexes Ally didn't know Dumbledore had, he caught it and flipped the book open.

"This..." he held up _The Family Gaunt_, "is the reason you two are here."

Ally glanced at James wearily and Dumbledore interceded.

"James is a student whom I know will not use the information you and I are about to reveal to harm anyone."

James looked at Dumbledore, his face was stunned. Then he smiled warmly and settled into his chair, his hand on Lily's shoulder.

"Shall we start," Dumbledore said, "where you found this book?"

"Oh." Ally said. "Yes, we'll start there."

"It may shock you to know that I was not aware you were in possession of this book. I was not aware that it had been taken from the library. I cannot tell you how surprised I was when I was informed by the castle wards that it had been thrown against a wall in the Gryffindor Dormitories. As far as I had been concerned... it was still laying on the shelves of the restricted section, safe, and gathering dust by the second."

He paused to set down the book her was holding.

"First, I must ask you two a couple of question so I may piece together my story.."

"Now..." he folded his hand in front of him and turned to Lily. "I believe that when Ally, the Marauders, and you snuck out in the middle of the night some time ago, around Christmas time, you made a visit to the library. Miss Evans... What sort of charm did you use to steal books from the restricted section?"

Lily was fazed by the question. She blushed and lowered her head. James squeezed her shoulder to urge her on. Dumbledore leaned forward to catch what Lily was whispering.

"I invented it."

"I thought so..." he said wisely. "What kind of Charm was it?"

"It froze the time in the library."

Dumbledore looked impressed for a moment, but his face quickly covered it up.

"That would explain why the library did not detect the book being stolen... I must warn you to exercise caution when performing that spell again." he warned. "That is a most powerful spell and when in the wrong hands could bring devastation. I am, however, astonished that a sixth year could perform magic of that magnitude. Congratulation, Miss Evans, I never doubted your ability to be one of the best."

Lily blushed even more profoundly and sunk into her chair.

"Now, even if I could not foresee the book being taken, I would have been able to tell where in Hogwarts it was... that is... if the book touched Hogwarts' stone?"

That last part was directed at Ally. Ally sat up straight when she was addressed and looked from the book to Dumbledore. She was thinking.

"But it didn't..." she said slowly. "It didn't touch the stone. It was always in my backpack or my hands... The first time I put it down... it didn't touch the table directly, there was a book beneath it. It didn't touch my bed either because my blankets weren't Hogwarts blankets. The blankets were my own, charmed to our Dormitory."

Ally thought back to the times that she had read the book. Every time she had had the book there was a robe or a person covering it from touching anything. She sighed to herself, if only she hadn't been so obsessed with the book.

"I figured that." he sighed and sat back in the chair. "Since the book was taken while there was a charm on the library, and since it was always blocked from Hogwarts by a back pack or a robe... the book remained undetected."

"Until..." he trailed off and flipped to the back of the book, "Until you came upon this."

The green ink made Ally's mind whirl and she held a hand to her hand. Lily leaned against James and covered her eyes. James was staring at the page with a mix of horror, confusion, and shock

"I'll take that as a yes." he said while handing a Lemon Drop to James. "In your fear and surprise you threw the book against the wall. Hogwarts' wards sent me a message informing me of a stolen book, a book I thought was safe... You screamed. Lily woke up and discovered the book. The rest of the Dormitory woke up and I brought you here."

Dumbledore's gaze flickered between Ally and Lily. He looked stern and tired.

"I assume that you have some speculation on who wrote these notes?"

"Tom Riddle." said Ally. "I know it was him. I just know it."

Dumbledore did not hide the emotion on his face. He looked surprised, amazed and confused. Then his face cleared up and he asked Lily.

"Do you agree?"

"Well... I..."

"You..." Dumbledore repeated.

"If you rearrange the letters in his name it fits."

It was Ally's turn to look confused. _When did Lily figure that out?_

"Sorry, but what did you say?" Dumbledore said.

"If you rearrange the letters, Tom Marvolo Riddle, you can spell... I Am Lord V—Voldemort."

James was looking from Lily to Ally and the book. Ally could tell he was absorbing this information up.

"There were dates in the book and names too." Ally said. "Dates of meetings... Death Eater meetings from when he was still in school. He was playing with the letters in his name. It means Flight from Death. V—Voldemort means Flight from Death. Thought he was being smart, I suppose."

She paused and started to shake.

"I—I thought he was just being funny in those books when he said he was going to kill the muggleborns in front of him... I never though—he—he really did do those things—"

Dumbledore didn't need to hand her another Lemon Drop, Ally helped herself to the bowl.

"I did not think that this book would ever be found." Dumbledore said sternly. "I will be taking this from you, I think I will flip through the pages once more and observe what my old student has written. Perhaps it will come in handy."

Dumbledore sighed once more and rubbed his eyes. For the first time, Ally noticed that he did not have his normal half moon spectacles on.

"I must ask you to forget whatever was written in this book."

"Professo—"

"I know I cannot ask you to forget his identity. In fact, I know it is impossible to forget what you have just learned. But I must ask you to forget, at least, the personality and the comments written. The dates and the letters, throw it all aside."

He stood and Lily, Ally and James followed him. He stopped at the door that led outside his office and turned to face them.

"You will not be punished, curiosity is not a sin. Please... be careful."

The three students nodded at what sounded like a plea coming from Dumbledore. They left the office and said nothing on the way back to the Dormitory.

Lily stopped James outside the portrait hole.

"Tell no one?" she asked softly.

"Sirius." he whispered back.

"Sure, but no one else." Ally said.

They all agreed to this and climbed into the common room. It was late in the night already, but they know they would get very little sleep.

The carriage halted to a stop in front of the entrance to Hogsmeade. Ally jolted awake and rubbed her head. She shook herself awake and left the carriage while casting an 'impervius' charm. _This is going to be a long day..._ she thought while she walked to the Three Broomsticks with Lily. _Very long..._


	23. Chapter 23 Hogsmeade Part Two

**(A/N I made a HUGE mistake. I left out a chapter. I'm really sorry! If anyone notices any mistakes in the titles or any mistakes in the chapters PLEASE let me know. It was really difficult for me to fix it, and I'm still not sure if it was all repaired. Also, this chapter was written on a really old computer, please be nice if there are any errors. Sorry!)**

Chapter 23-Hogsmeade Part Two

Lily watched as Ally stifled a yawn under her hand. They were huddled in the far corner of The Three Broomsticks, waiting for James and Sirius to come. Earlier in the day, during breakfast, James had sent them a note. He wanted to meet them to question about what had happened. To tired to argue, they both agreed on meeting at The Three Broomsticks, it was crowded enough so that no one could hear them if they wanted to have a private conversation.

The rain, so far, had not let up and Lily was not happy. It was dark and dreary on the streets of Hogsmeade, meaning it would be harder to predict a Dementor attack. Whenever Dementors attacked, they had a nasty habit of turning the sky dark. Today was no different, though they would not have any forewarning due to the weather.

Lily and Ally ordered a round of Butterbeers. Lily sipped hers lightly and was wary of Ally, who had made a habit of downing the glasses. Even though there was no alcohol, with Ally you could never be sure.

The bells on the door of the shop rung and Lily looked up to see James and Sirius shaking some rain out of their hair. Ally waved tiredly and Lily suppressed another yawn.

James and Sirius saw them and waved back. They sat down across the table and Lily ordered another round of Butterbeers for their friends, stifling a yawn as she did.

"How can _you _not be tired?" Ally asked spitefully to James, but the effect was ruined by another yawn. "It took me ages to get to sleep."

"Guess I just have a lot of energy," James grinned. "Are you two tired?

"No," Lily yawned.

"Not in the least bit." Ally slurred her words.

"So what did you two come here to talk about?" Lily asked leaning heavily on the table.

"The subject of a certain Mr. Riddle that we have just found out about." Sirius whispered.

Ally and Lily looked at each other and nodded grimly. They had expected that this was what they were going to be talking about. No one could expect to learn the name of the next Dark Lord and then forget about it.

"What do you want to know?" Ally asked drowsily.

"And keep the sentences short," Lily said, putting her head down on the table to rest. "I'm tired."

"Well," James said. "How much did you find out about him?"

"A lot," Ally yawned. "Next question."

"You know what we mean, Al," said Sirius. "We want to know all that you know about him."

"You want to take turns?" Lily said drowsily.

"Sure," Ally replied, "You start, though."

"Alright," Lily sat up slightly. "His full name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He went to Hogwarts in the forties, during Grindelwald's time. He hates all muggleborns and muggles, Even though he isn't pureblood himself."

"We figured out the first part. But what do you mean he isn't pureblood?" Sirius asked curiously.

"He wrote in that book you saw," Ally pointed at James, "About how he murdered his 'filthy muggle father' and then how he is the descendant of Slytherin."

"He was the descendant of Salazar Slytherin!" James whispered excitedly.

"Correction." Lily said smartly. "He _is_ the descendant of Slytherin. The man who wrote those notes is still alive."

"But still... Slytherin. But he was a right prick, wasn't he?"

"I thought he was smart... and a bit funny when he wanted to be. But other than that, he was very upright and--and. it's weird." Ally yawned. "The way he wrote about things... sort of made you _want_ to follow him, and believe in him. He was very persuasive."

"He's a hypocrite though, murdering his own father... who was a muggle!" James said incredulously.

"It doesn't matter," Sirius said gravely. "No one will believe he's not pureblood, his followers, they want to think that he's the purest of them all. The one who has the power to purify the race. That's what my mum talks about."

"Anything else?" Ally said, lying her own head down on the table.

"Yes," James said, "What else was in the book, other than his name?"

"Oh," Ally thought for a moment, "There were dates for meeting... Death Eater meetings. And there were doodles of snakes. Rude comments among other things."

"What did he talk about?" James asked.

"To be honest... I haven't put much stock into it." Ally said. "It was mainly sarcastic comments about the Gaunt family. In the columns he raved about how he wouldn't be like his ancestors. How he was going to _be_ someone. He talked about being immortal and about being the leader of a secret society of purebloods. He even talked about how he had started recruiting in his teenage years. He sounded mad to me."

"Sounds like he was mad to me too." Lily agreed sleepily. "Another round of Butterbeers!"

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" James said. "It'll only make you more sleepy."

"Nonsense!" Ally said as the Butterbeer appeared at their table.

They both took a large gulp and were surprised to find themselves very much awake afterwards. Lily looked at Ally and then to the Butterbeers. She shrugged and took another gulp. Feeling even more awake, she nodded at Ally to do the same. Together, they finished their Butterbeers with more energy than they could imagine.

Ally was bouncing up and down in her seat.

"So what else do you want to know about Riddle?" Lily asked cheerfully.

James and Sirius looked at each other and exchanged a silent conversation. Lily guessed that it went something along the lines of _What's with them? Who cares, they do weird things at times. Women are confusing. I agree._

Lily giggled uncharacteristically at the looks on their face.

"What else do you know?" Sirius said slowly.

"What else do I know?" Ally said, "Lots! Like... he always was talking about being a god on earth. He wanted to exterminate muggles. Create Horcruxes to make him invincible. Wage a war and get rid of the Ministry idiots. I'm with him on getting rid of the Ministry officials. They're stupid."

"I agree." Lily said conversationally. "I had a cousin who had a government job."

"Whoa!" Ally said jumping up and down. "Did she do secret government stuff?"

"No!" Lily laughed, "She got coffee!"

Ally and Lily laughed uproariously and Sirius ordered for the same type of Butterbeer they were given.

"Wait," James said, "Horcruxes? What are those?"

"How should I know?" Ally said quickly. "All that Riddle said in the book was that it had something to do with hiding a piece of your soul in something else. If I were him, I would hide it in a piece of grass."

"Then bury it in the desert," Lily added excitedly.

"In the middle of an oasis!"

"With guards around it!"

"And flowers!"

Sirius now eyed his new drink with suspicion.

"Is that all you two know?"

"Nope!" Lily said happily.

"Not at all."

"We know loads about charms."

"And I know a lot about Divination! My mother was a Seer!"

"Really! Great!" Lily said. "Can she do any math?"

"No." Ally said sadly.

"I can do math!" Lily said.

Sirius pushed his drink toward James. James looked at it warily before pushing it toward Lily and Ally.

"What I meant was..." James continued. "Did you learn anything more about You-Know-Who?"

"Oh."

"Well, why didn't you say so!" Lily said. "Honestly James, I thought you were asking about how intelligent we are. That would be silly. You know all girls are smarter than boys."

"Naturally."

"It's sooooooo obvious."

"I wonder why they even try to be smarter than girls..."

"Don't crush their hope." Ally said peppily, "It's so cute!"

"I think there was something in those drinks we had, Ally!"

"I think so too!"

"Whatever it is..." Lily said. "I think we're on a sugar high!"

"I think so too!"

"We must get that recipe!"

"I think so too!"

"Stop saying that!"

"I think so too!" Ally said. "Let's go see if there's a Dementor attack yet!"

"I think we should go see if there's a Dementor attack too!"

"Alright." Ally shrugged. "Let's get going!"

"Wait!" James and Sirius called after them.

"What are you talking about?" James said, hurrying to catch up to them. "A Dementor attack. How do you know? What are you talking about? How can you be certain?"

"Didn't we just explain this, Ally?" Lily said and Ally nodded in agreement. "Girls are smarter than boys. Of course there's going to be a Dementor attack! I told you so!"

"Remember how there was an attack when there was quidditch?"

They were walking down the crowded lanes of Hogsmeade. Not knowing exactly where they were going, Lily and Ally led them toward the outskirts of town. If there was going to be a Dementor attack, they might as well attempt to stop it before it reached the town. Unknowingly, they were walking toward Shrieking Shack.

"Yes," James said dumbly. "Of course we remember. We were in the air on our broomsticks! How could we forget, we thought we would fall off!"

"Well," Lily said. "Do you know what attracted them?"

"The crowd," Sirius added.

"Not precisely." Lily said cheerfully. "It was the attraction of the happiness! The good feelings were amplified _because_ it was a crowd. They just could not resist visiting the pitch that day."

"So how do you figure," James said, "That there's going to be a Dementor attack today?"

"Look around you!" Lily spun around and stretched her arms our in the middle of the crowded street. "What do you see?"  
James looked left and right.

"People." he said dully. "Just people."

"Are they sad people?" Ally prompted. "Are they?"

"No... Oh," Realization dawned on his face, "People are happy. A lot of people are happy, in one place. They're going to attack... We should tell someone! A professor!"  
James looked wildly around again but the only people were students shopping and talking loudly.

"We can't," Lily said pointedly. "The Professors don't control the regulations on the Dementors. The only people we could tell would be the Ministry officials.

"Who would never believe us in a million years!" Ally was skipping.

"Oh." James said and they continues walking. Not in silence, far from it. Ally and Lily were chatting excitedly about the Patronus charm. James and Sirius were listening to them talk about it. They were interested, but whenever they had attempted to ask about it, the conversation would take a drastic turn toward how pretty James and Sirius would look in pink.

They approached the Shrieking Shack. Remus and Sam were talking by the fence that led to the walkway. Ally and Lily ran forward to chat excitedly to Sam about how good Remus would look in pink.

"What are you two on?" Sam looked them up and down.

"Butterbeer!" Ally cheered. "The best in the world!"

"You two know," Sam said slowly, "That there's no alcohol in Butterbeer."

"Oh, we know!" Lily nodded energetically. "Our drinks were spiked in something else! I feel invincible!"

"Let's kick Dementor butt!" Ally cheered, then paused to screw her face up in thought. "If they have a butt..."

"What's up with you?" Lily asked Sam.

Sam had spaced out for a moment. She looked thoughtful and suspicious. Once she was addressed she jumped in surprise and shook her head.

"It's just..."

"Dog problems?" Ally said wisely.

"Dog problems?" Sam looked lost. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Lily said, glaring at Ally. Then she whispered loudly, to make sure that Sam could hear her. "We promised Remus we wouldn't tell."

"What was that?" Sam looked alarmed. "What was that about Remus?"

She looked over at Remus who was talking to James and Sirius. Sirius was laughing at a joke that James had just told. Remus was blushing.

"Oh... well," Ally said mysteriously. "We aren't supposed to tell."

Ally leaned in a looked around to make sure no one was listening. It was a pointless gesture because the only people around were the three Marauders.

"It's a secret!" Ally whispered. "Remus is afraid...that if we tell you... you won't like him anymore."

"What is it?" Same leaned in. "You can tell me."

"Nope!" Ally straightened up. "I'm a Hufflepuff! Loyal to the end!"

"I always thought that Hufflepuffs _liked_ to gossip." Lily pondered.

"That is a bit odd, isn't it?." Ally said.

"That doesn't matter!" Sam burst out. "What's Remus' secret? I know that he's hiding something! Where in the world does he go when he disappears once a month! His mother can't be that sick! She would be dead by now! He's lying and I know it! I'm a Ravenclaw!"

"Hufflepuff!" Ally pouted.

"Slytherin!" Lily argued.

"I told you it DOESN'T matter!" Sam shouted.

Remus, James and Sirius looked at them oddly from across the clearing. James nodded wisely and, no doubt, the group turned around to tell Remus that Lily and Ally had been acting bizarrely after receiving a few drinks from the Three Broomsticks.

Sam looked them both in the eye.

"I _have_ to know. I don't care, whatever it is, I _don't _care." Sam said seriously. "I _have_ to know."  
"I don't know..." Ally said, more to Lily then to Sam. "What if you and Remus got into a fight? And you were really mad... would you blurt out his secret to get revenge?"

"**Never,**" Sam swore. "I would **never** do that to him. I would never do that to anyone."

"If you say so..." Lily said skeptically.

"But we did promise Remus we wouldn't tell anyone..." Ally pointed out.

"That is true..."

"But wait!" Ally snapped her fingers. "She's a Ravenclaw! She could figure it out if we gave her a few very good clues!"

"Right!" Lily jumped at the idea.

Ally and Lily huddled together a couple meters away from Sam. They conversed quietly to them selves. Minutes passed and Sam shifted her weight from foot to foot. She was waiting patiently in the beginning, but now she was getting annoyed.

"Are you two going to tell me anything or not!" she shouted.

"Okay," she heard from Lily. "Let's go!"

They clapped their hands together and strode back over to Sam.

"We want you to just _consider _dying your hair to a nice brunette col--"

"JUST TELL ME!"

The three Marauders clapped their hands over their ears but Lily and Ally did not look fazed.

"Just consider it--"

"**_Tell me._**" Sam said dangerously with her eyes narrowed, it looked like her patience had run out.

"Alright," Lily sighed. "Once upon a time there was a little boy."

"Who was bitten."

"Then he had a furry little problem."

"Every time a big white orb appeared in the sky."

"He had big teeth and yellow eyes."

"He thought his friends wouldn't like him because he went mad."

"But his friends still liked them."  
"He just had a problem telling them."

"So you might need to confront him on this issue."

"Don't worry." Ally said. "If you believe that people don't realize what they have until it's gone, then you won't have a problem with Remus leaving every month."

Sam looked incredibly confused and Lily patted her arm sympathetically.

"It's okay," she said, "Give it a moment to sink in."

Sam still looked confused and Ally laughed. Together, they dragged Sam along with them toward Hogsmeade. Remus, James, and Sirius followed them, obviously worried what Ally and Lily could do in their current condition.

They walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, there were still many students milling around. The rain had cleared up but it was chilly and foggy in the village. Ally and Lily took a turn into the back alleys of Hogsmeade. Sam was still being dragged, thinking over the clues she had been told. The group of six settled into a dark back alley far away from the streets.

Sam sat leaned against a wall heavily, still thinking.

Lily and Ally left her there.

It wasn't their fault she was slow to figure this out. Or maybe she had figured it out, but she was having trouble digesting it. Or she just didn't believe it was true.

"What were you three talking about?" James asked, looking at the confused Sam.

"Nothing," Ally said innocently.

"Nothing," Lily mimicked.

"What did you do to her?" Sirius was watching Sam.

"We didn't do anything," Lily said. "Sam's just thinking about something."

"What's she thinking about?" Remus asked quietly.

"A story we told her," Ally replied. "It's a good story."

"Very goo--"

"OH MY GOSH!" Sam shouted. "HE'S A WEREWOLF!"

Ally and Lily looked ecstatic and went to hug Sam.

"You figured it out!"

"I'm so happy! I always knew you were a Hufflepuff!"

Sam looked shocked and surprised, she was staring at Remus. James was staring at Remus too. Sirius was looking from Sam to Remus. Ally was watching Lily and James. Lily was looking at a butterfly.

"Don't you think its great that you don't have to lie to her anymore, Moony?"

Remus looked anything from ecstatic. He looked like he was going to hurl. He also looked like he was torn between killing Lily and Ally and crying because Sam had discovered his secret.

Sam was still in shock. She quickly recovered herself and shook her head as if to clear off any thoughts still buzzing. Then, to everyone's surprise she rounded on Remus.

"How could you not tell me?" she said softly.

Remus was startled and started to blush and stutter.

"I-I didn't t-think that you would l-like me. Or I didn't k-know if you would t-tell." He looked down at his feet.

Sam leapt forward and swept him into a hug.

"Of course I wouldn't tell," she murmured against him. "I would never."

Remus had barely enough time to look relieved. Lily and Ally's 'Aaaaaw' was cut short abruptly. Sirius' rude comment died at his lips and James was stopped from asking Lily out at the last minute.

Screams and shouts erupted from the main streets of Hogsmeade. Ally jumped and looked startled. Remus pulled Sam closer to him. James started and went after Lily. Sirius pulled out his wand reflexively.

"What's going on?" Remus asked.

"Dementors!" Ally shouted and ran with Lily toward the main streets.

"You boys stay here!" Sam shouted as she ran after Lily and Ally.

"Like hell!" Sirius shouted over the noise now coming from the main streets. "We're coming with!"

James and Remus pulled out their wands in agreement. Ally and Lily had no time to argue as they ran into the village.

The two Gryffindor girls, and one Ravenclaw, pushed against the now teeming crowd of witches and wizards who were fleeing into the dark alley. Ally and Lily tried to push their way through the crowd. But for every step they took, they took another three back as they were shoved and tossed. Lily felt an hand wrap itself around her arm and she was pulled back.

The three Marauders were standing on the edge of the alley. James had taken the liberty of pulling out his cloak.

"Time to go undercover," he said and flipped the cloak over all of them. Ally marveled at the fact that they all fit.

They slowly walked along the edge of the alley, avoiding the panicked crowd. James led them to a brick wall. He pulled out his wand and tapped a few select bricks. Lily could hear him muttering under his breath as he did so. "...Three to the right, one to the left... two down."

Lily gasped as the bricks rearranged themselves into a door before her very eyes. James grinned at her but it quickly wilted when he heard the screams issuing from the main street. Lily felt herself being pushed into the secret alley way.

"James, don't push me. I can get in by myself," Lily said irritably.

"I didn't push you," he countered at the same time as throwing the invisibility cloak off of them.

"But I felt..." she trailed off as she caught a wisp of red hair around the corner.

"What is it...Lil?" Ally asked while drawing out her wand and advancing into the alley way.

Lily felt herself shudder at the feeling of cold that washed over her. The sky was unusually dark and rain was pouring down.

"Nothing," she pulled out her wand.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she said.

A silver stallion galloped out of her wand and pranced the alleyway proudly. He stopped behind Lily and Lily pet his mane. Ally's bear was soon tumbling happily around the alley, followed by the Raven from Sam.

"What are these?" Remus asked while petting the stallion.

"No time to explain," Lily said swiftly. "We have to get to the main street."

The group of six ran quickly through the alley. Ally lingered behind, giving her bear an affectionate pat on the nose before Sirius pulled her arm and told her to hurry. Lily fronted the group. The alley soon breached out and she was faced with another brick wall.

"James! Open this one up," she said.

He gladly consented to tapping more bricks with his wand. The bricks slowly rearranged themselves into another door. The six students stepped forward to see beyond the darkness. It sis not clear at all, the world was entirely dark on the streets. Ally nudged her bear forward and it cautiously walked into the darkness.

_What's going on here?_ Lily asked herself. Her Patronus pranced ahead of her happily and Lily followed, she was the only of her friends who risked entering the street yet. James followed her cautiously. The streets were ice. Lily could feel the cold sweeping up past her shoes and into her feet. She shuddered.

"What's going on?" Remus asked.

"I don't know..." she said, then she addressed Sam. "Tell your Patronus to soar ahead and get an aerial view."  
Sam nodded and conveyed the message to the Raven. The bird nodded and happily soared above the rest of them, high into the sky. Sam watched it fly away with sadness. One gets attached to these sort of things.

Their was noise in front of them. It was a shuffling sound. James raised his wand in a ready position and walked forward. Sirius soon followed his friends. Together the two boys left the light that was coming from the remaining two Patronus'.

"Where are you two going?" Ally whispered. "We don't even know what made that noise!"

"Relax, Al," Sirius said calmly. "We'll be back in a second. It was probably just a stray cat."

Ally couldn't see him, but she could tell that he was grinning. Sirius was the type of person who liked adventure a little too much. Ally nodded grimly and watched and waited for any signs of life.

Lily was nervously twiddling her wand between her fingers. She didn't like their situation. They could see nothing but darkness, everything was silent. Where were the screams that they had heard before? Where were the Dementors? More importantly, what had happened to James and Sirius? She shifted from foot to foot in anticipation. Sam was watching curiously, gripping Remus' arm tightly. Lily could tell he was in pain, but he said nothing.

"I'm going to look for them," Remus said finally. "This is getting to be ridiculous."

He started to walk forward, but Sam quickly followed him.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

Remus looked like he was going to protest, but Sam sent him a look that closed his half open mouth with a snap. Lily stepped forward.

"Come back and tell us what your Raven found... We need to know too."

"Alright," Sam said, walking away. "Stay safe."

Remus and Sam walked away. The last thing Lily saw was their backs before they disappeared. Now, Lily and Ally were the only two left in the darkness, except for their Patronus' who were the only source of light.

They waited for one minute... two minutes... three minutes... Lily sighed exasperatedly and turned to look up into the darkness. She could faintly see a bright bulb.

"Al," Lily pointed. "What is that?"

Ally sighed and looked up into the sky. She looked faintly surprised then hopeful.

"Maybe it's a streetlamp..." she said. "If the lamps are going back on then it means the Dementors are leaving..."

"I have a feeling that it's not Dementors..." Lily said. "Are you sure that it's a streetlamp?"

"What else could it--" Ally cut off. "Look, it's getting bigger."

The light that was once feint was growing in intensity. It was beginning to take shape. The edges were becoming more defined. It grew in size and brightness.

"I think it's coming toward us!" Lily said in alarm. "Get your wand up, we don't want to be caught off guard."

Lily was standing in ready position with her wand fixed at the light. Then, Ally pulled her wand down.

"No," she said. "I know what that is... It's Sam's Raven."

The bird was diving down toward them with speed that neither knew it had. It landed on the rooftop next to them and cawed loudly. Lily turned and watched the Raven hop nervously from foot to foot.

"What is it?" Lily asked. "Sam went ahead."

The Raven jumped and flapped it's wings. It was still hopping from foot to foot and cawing loudly now. It jumped down from the rooftop and walked past Lily and Ally. It paused to look at them and then waved it's wing forward.

"It wants us to follow!" Ally said. "Sam must be in trouble!"

They both raced forward after the bird gave an affirmative caw. Ally had to be right, something magical was happening. Something that had blocked Sam's Patronus from getting her, something had stopped the light from getting to the main street.

Ally and Lily raced into the darkness. The only light was coming from the bear and stallion that followed obediently after their witches. Lily could see nothing. There was nothing around them. Then she felt herself run into a barrier, she stumbled backward into Ally.

"What happened?" Ally asked. She stuck her hand out and felt the barrier. "What is it?"

"It must be a boundary... Someone doesn't want us to get in."

"How did the others get in...?" Ally asked, feeling the wall with her hand.

"I don't know..." she trailed off, looking left and right. "There must be a flaw somewhere."

"The Dark Lord makes no flaws..." came a greasy voice to their left.

"You can't get through little Hoggies..." came a woman's sneering tone to their right.

"It's hopeless," said another woman. "You'll never figure it out..."

Lily looked wildly around, nothing but darkness.

"Oh, yes." cackled a second man. "The Dementors are very useful at darkening the world aren't they? Can't see us can you?"

"That's a good thing though, Lucius," said the first woman. "This way, if they come back as ghosts..."

"They won't be able to tell..." said the second woman.

"Which _Death Eater_ killed them."

"Oh, very smart Bella," the second woman giggled unattractively. "You have such a knack for seeing the _bright_ side of things."

The two women cackled sinisterly and Lily shuddered at the unnatural sound of their laughter. _Please let someone come... Anyone..._

"We should give them a welcome party."  
Four Death Eaters appeared before them. The light from their Patronus' revealed four very scary looking witches and wizards. The first of which was an old man, he had a large nose and brown mousy hair, his eyes were black and they glinted darkly. He stood with an undeniable slouch, he looked like a vagabond. Lily didn't want to get too close to this man, he looked like he smelled.

The second woman, Bella, at first glance, looked very beautiful. But the more Lily stared at her, the more she didn't like.. Her hair was black and glossy, too black and glossy, it looked like water on her head. Her features were angular and hollow, as if she was slightly sick and starving just from being alive. Her eyes were grey and misty, and it didn't look like she was capable of any proper thought.

The second woman had white blonde hair. At first glance she looked very regal. Her stance was proud and pampered. But she didn't look any older then seventeen. She was young, to say the least. But her eyes betrayed nothing but cold, misty, hard feelings toward everyone around her. Her nose was held high, as if she was constantly smelling something that repulsed her. She _had_ to be a pureblood aristocrat. She _had_ to be. No one else held them self in that manner.

The last Death Eater, Lucius, Lily and Ally recognized immediately. He looked the same as ever. His white blonde hair blended nicely with his pale, untouched skin. He held himself in the same aristocratic manner that the second woman had. Very regal, and very rude.

"What do you want?" Ally asked bravely, "We've got nothing that would matter to you."

"Oh, but you do..." the white haired woman stepped forward and stroked Ally's cheek lightly, then slapped it. "You have tainted blood... No one with tainted blood is acceptable. I'm afraid we have no choice."

She turned to Lily and sneered at her in disgust. Lily could barely contain herself from sneering back. Ally forced herself not to rub the cheek where the woman had hit her.

"Especially not your friend here." She crinkled her nose. "A Mudblood."

"I'm sorry Narcissa," Bella said. "But we must keep the pleasantries short, no matter how much you love to entertain."

"You're right," Narcissa said. "Sometimes I get ahead of myself. I suppose you want to take care of this, Lucius?"

"Ah," Lucius said lightly. "Torture is my expertise. I'm afraid I'm not suited for the simple killing curse. It brings no satisfaction to my part. Bella, would you like to?"

Bella grinned evilly and nodded. Narcissa stepped to the side and hung onto Lucius' arm. Bella raised her wand threateningly at the two and opened her mouth.

"AVADA K--"

Lily felt herself being jerked back. A hand from behind her clapped over her mouth, preventing herself from screaming. She was forced backward and head the Death Eaters shouting.

"Where did they go!"

"They disappeared."

"Should we search for them? The Dark Lord won't be pleased."

"NO!" screamed Lucius. "We tell him nothing! We don't look, we never found them! He won't tolerate failure!"

"Let's leave while we can!" Bella said. "Now, come sister!"

Lily heard the sound of their retreating footsteps. Slowly the hand over her mouth loosened and Lily broke free of whomever it was. Ally pulled her away and together they stared at their saviors... It was them... Lily realized that what was happening, she was just having difficulty believing it.

"Quickly!" said the second Lily. "Go back!"

Lily stared at herself. Ally was staring at _herself_.

"Just go!" said the second Ally. "You're wasting time."

The first Lily jumped to life. Ally felt a chain being swung around her and Lily spun the golden disc at the end of the golden necklace. While she was turning it, she dropped the disc. It spun a number of times while it fell and Lily felt the familiar sensation of the world blur.

They were going back in time...


	24. Chapter 24 Hogsmeade Part Three

**(A/N Two chapters in one day? Why not! Notice any errors or things you're confused on, please leave a review and I'll fix it or answer your questions in a flash. Reviews make me happy and questions make me jump up and down!)**

**Disclaimer: If offered Harry Potter, I would take it... but sadly, I don't own Harry Potter yet. Only my character. **

Chapter 24-Hogsmeade Part Three

Ally stumbled forward as the world stopped spinning in front of her eyes. Her feet were wobbly and she unceremoniously fell onto the bench in front of her. Lily tucked the golden chain back onto her neck.

"What was that?" Ally said weakly. She looked around.

Lily and Ally were in a small alley. Hogsmeade was as it should be. The sky was darkening and a large clock top of the Three Broomsticks chimed ten o' clock. Ally rubbed her head against the ringing of the clock. The streets were empty except for the random passerby.

Lily looked around her. She noticed the clock time and made note of it.

"Do you remember when we got our timetables?"

Ally sighed. Whatever was happening, she better just go along with it.

"Yes, I remember getting our time tables... What does that have to do with _anything_? And where are we?"

"When I got my time table I showed you this," she held up the golden chain. "It's a time turner, remember?"

Ally looked at the golden chain and twirled it between her fingers. She faintly remembered a distant conversation in the beginning of the year.

"Yeah, I remember that."

She looked around, realization dawning on her face.

"Oh," she said. "This is interesting... but... when are we?"

"When are we?" Lily repeated. "We're in last night. Before Hogsmeade I should think... Yes, it looks like this is before anything happened." Lily pointed to the calendar that they could see through the window.

Ally raised her head slightly to get a better look into the window. Sure enough, the calendar read May 4th, yesterday. Or was it today? She pondered.

"Well... what do we do?" Ally asked.

"Hmm," Lily tapped her finger on her chin. "We must have had some sort of involvement in the day we just left. Something we missed..."

"Well, I say we saved our lives." Ally said sarcastically. "But maybe I imagined that..."

"No." Lily said. "How did we get there? Wasn't there something mysterious about yesterday?"

"I don't know," Ally said. "I think we should take this opportunity to relax."

Lily looked at her reproachfully

"What?" Ally said. "How else are we going to be certain that we'll be in this exact alley at this exact time?"

"For a number of reasons," Lily said, ticking them of with her fingers. "For one, if we're caught, we'll be questioned as to why we aren't in Hogwarts, asleep. Two, if we get caught, we'll meet our own selves; that's bad, Ally. People might think we're Death Eaters. Three, we may have some involvement in this day that we don't know about. And if we miss it, then we may just mess up time forever."

Ally nodded glumly. As much as she hated to admit it, Lily was almost always right. There was a big chance that any of these things could happen, and they couldn't risk their own lives. There really is such a thing as death by laziness.

"And most of all... bad things happen to witches and wizards who meddle in time. If we mess things up too much, we may even cause someone else serious misfortune. Even worse, we could kill ourselves."

Ally nodded determinedly and sat up. She immediately felt a little dizzy but she shook it off.

"Time travel is not for me."

"No travel is for _you_," Lily jibed.

"Don't even mention floo," Ally said remorsefully.

She straightened up and began to walk down the empty streets of Hogsmeade. Lily quickly caught up to her.

"Where are you going?" she asked, but didn't stop Lily.

"Honeydukes," said Ally smartly.

"_Honeydukes_?" Lily asked with a sneer. "Why do you need candy _now_? Cant this wait."

"I'm not going for candy!" Ally rebuked. "I _accidentally_ picked up on a Marauder conversation."

"Accidentally?" Lily asked, and then added wisely. "I see."

"Yes, accidentally," Ally replied. "They were too absorbed in their conversation about a party to realize that I was listening. Sirius said that he was going to go down to the cellar of Honeydukes. He was saying that he had just discovered a passageway that goes from the cellar to Hogwarts."

Ally and Lily ran down the side alley of Honeydukes and slipped through the back door quietly. Ally looked ahead and around the corner and gave a 'thumbs up' to Lily.

"It's all clear." Ally whispered, now that they were inside, they certainly didn't want to be caught.

"So where are we going?"

Ally stepped ahead to view the cellar. She saw boxes piled up to the ceiling and a few knick nacks. Some boxes were oddly shaped and distorted. On box was a clear bubble with jumping jelly beans inside. They bounced happily as they saw the new intruders.

Ally looked around.

"I didn't hear enough from them to know exactly where it was..." Ally said. "I heard them say that they had to move a stone... that's it."

"Alright," Lily whispered back. "You search the bottom... I'll search the sides."

Ally nodded and Lily could barely see it. The light that was streaming in from the small window near the top of the wall was fading fast as night was setting in.

It didn't take long for Ally to remove one stone to see darkness below it. She waved for Lily to stop searching and pointed to the dark bottom.

"How deep is it?" Lily asked, with both of their heads craned over the side.

"I don't know, Lumos." she said and ignited her wand.

She lowered it cautiously and examined the tunnel. It was only a small drop to the first step on a long set of stairs and Ally sighed in relief.

"No broken legs today," she said and hopped down.

"Good," Lily said and followed. "I'd have terrible trouble kicking Potter."

Lily used some simple magic to fix the stone entrance back to its original form. Lily started forward and Ally followed.

The tunnel was wide at the beginning, but it soon narrowed out the farther they went. Ally kept her wand lit, but then extinguished it. There was no need to keep her wand lit if there was obviously no one there. Not to mention it was impossible to get lost, the entire tunnel was one way. It curved slightly at the end and Lily could feel the wall in front of her. She lit her wand and pushed the stone.

Miraculously it gave in and Lily and Ally tumbled out. Ally stumbled and stood back up. She looked around her. They were on the third floor of Hogwarts. The passageway must have been concealed by the statue of the Hump-back Witch. Ally was about find a way to close the opening, when it magically sealed itself.

"That was easy," Ally said.

"We should remember that!" Lily said. "Dead useful..."

"Right," Ally nodded. "I suppose that we should go to the dormitories now. I mean... that's where we are..."

"We should," Lily nodded in agreement and started to climb the stairs. "We want to keep a good track of ourselves..."

Ally and Lily walked silently through the castle. It must have been near midnight by now. The tunnel had taken ages to travel through. They reached the seventh floor quickly and Ally stopped Lily just before they reached the Fat Lady.

"What are we going to tell the Fat Lady?" she said in concern. "As far as she's concerned... we're in bed right now."

"I'm not sure." Lily said, "But she has to let us in if we know the password. She serves Hogwarts."

Ally looked beyond where they were standing and watched as the Fat Lady snored loudly.

"I think I know a charm... but do charms work on paintings?"

"What have we got to lose?" Lily said, "We should be getting up soon, and we don't want to miss that in case anything goes wrong..."

"Okay, but if anything goes wrong..." Ally said lightly. "Let's blame it on James."

"Of course," Lily said, "It's the Lally motto."

"You said Lally!" Ally jumped and gave her friend a hug. "I knew you had it in you!"

"I can't believe I said that." Lily pawed her face. "That was so stupid."

"What?" Ally said innocently.

"Nothing," Lily smiled. "Let's get into the dormitory..."  
Lily followed Ally, who had just pulled out her wand. She watched a light green light shot from Ally's wand and hit the Fat Lady on they head. The Fat Lady snorted and woke up drowsily.

She grinned sleepily at them and then nodded.

"Why, hello there! Little Dilys and little Boris...What brings you to Ravenclaw tower in the middle of the desert today?"

Ally grinned mischievously, obviously glad that her spell had functioned properly, and she lowered her wand and smiled back.

"Nothing much, we just wanted to get by," Ally said cheerfully.

"Well! Password?" said the Fat Lady, plucking a grape from a bowl in the painting next to her.

"Mackled Malaclaw!" Lily said quickly, eager to get in.

"Correct Dilys!" she said proudly, a bit tearfully too. "My, they grow up so fast."

She swung open to reveal the way into Gryffindor tower. As Ally passed by, she pulled out her wand and cast a sleeping spell on the portrait.

"What was that?" Lily asked. "I thought I was the master of every charm."

"Actually, it's only the Confundus Charm." Ally shrugged.

"Oh," Lily said, "But don't you normally need a specific motive for it to work?"

"Yeah, but if you use it as a normal spell... it does something really wonky."

"Is that why she thought she was in the desert?" Lily said dryly.

"Yeah," Ally said. "That would be why."

"Well," Ally sat back on the couch, "Let's recap."

"Let's," Lily sat down.

"Okay, soon," Ally said. "I'm going to scream murder. Then McGonagall will rush up. Then the boys will come down. Then we will be escorted to Dumbledore's office."

"Right," Lily said. "We have to make sure that all of that happens."

"I guess all we have to do is wait..."

"I guess..."

Lily and Ally lapsed into silence as they waited for Ally's scream to be heard. Ally was tempted to do something, read a book even. But Lily had warned her that a single thing out of place could do serious damage. Soon Ally was straining her ears to hear anything.

She looked up at the clock, it was getting late. Time had passes and it must have been the next day by now. Ally sighed and lay back.

Then she heard it.

Faintly, ever so faintly, Ally heard her past self scream.

Ally looked at Lily in confusion.

"Why is it so quiet?" Ally asked.

"I don't know... you don't think that—"

"Silencing enchantment," Ally said. "It must be that McGonagall put them up. Probably the Marauders fault, they like to annoy her with noise, don't they?"

"So..." Lily trailed off, "Scream."

"What?"

"Scream! Now!" Lily said.

"What are—?"

"You have to wake McGonagall up! Scream!"

Ally shook her head and imagined a spider crawling on her head. Easily, she screamed loudly. Lily had taken the liberty of transfiguring a book into a spider and dangling it in front of her face.

Lily pulled her back and they hid behind an arm chair. Lily clamped a hand over her mouth as McGonagall's footsteps could be heard crossing the common room. Ally dared to look up and she saw McGonagall's robe disappear around the staircase that led to the girl's dormitories.

Despite, their efforts, the boys were still not coming down.

"Good," Lily said. "I didn't _want_ James to come with us anyways!"

"Lily!" Ally said. "You just told me that we have to be sure everything goes precisely. If we don't wake them up, then Potter will never meet us at the Three Broomsticks!"

Lily sighed.

"Fine!"

She stood up and left their hiding place behind the large armchair, crossing the room she ran up the boy's dormitory. Ally could distantly hear Lily scream _very _loudly. She looked up as Lily raced down the stairs.

"Don't worry; I did a spell so that it'll seem as if it came from the girls' dormitory."

Ally and Lily watched the scene unfold before them.

The boys slowly came streaming out into the common room. They were mainly huddled near the staircases, so Lily and Ally didn't bother moving from their hiding place. Ally watched as Lily came down the staircase with Professor McGonagall. Ally could see herself trailing behind them.

"—heard a scream."

"It was from the girls' dormitory."

"There's Professor McGonagall and Lily."

"Al's there too."

"Is she holding a book?"

"Typical."

"Professor, what happened?"

They both watched with interest as McGonagall spoke to James and the rest of the boys. The disgruntled Gryffindors slowly left the common room. Ally watched as James asked Professor McGonagall if the Marauders could come with.

"Professor," James spoke out, "Maybe we should escort Lily and Al to the Hospital wing?"

Ally watched the fire crackle loudly. Ally stared for a moment. The fire never did that... then it clicked. She turned her head to the portrait. The Fat lady was still asleep. How could Dumbledore get into the common room?

Ally swiftly got up and snuck around to the portrait. Avoiding any notice, everyone was staring at McGonagall, waiting for her to make up her mind; she pushed the portrait hole gently open.

Dumbledore entered right after Ally had gone back to hiding behind the armchair.

"I don't think that's—"

"What a wonderful idea." Dumbledore said.

Ally had just enough time to ponder how Dumbledore even knew what James had asked if he wasn't here. Her mind drifted back to how the fire had crackled. Then she shook her head. It was Dumbledore, after all.

Ally and Lily watched as Dumbledore led their past selves and a past James out of the common room. She could have sworn though, that Dumbledore slightly nodded in their direction.

Ally and Lily breathed a sigh of relief as the common room was now empty.

"I hate to say I told you so," Lily said. "But I was right."

"Yeah, I can't believe we would be needed to do all that."

"It's a bit confusing... isn't it?"

"I wish I was taller..."

"That was random."

"I know... but I still wish I was taller."

Lily rolled her eyes; together they left the common room. They followed themselves at a distant. Ally made a few mistakes by letting her shadow be seen by her past self. She cursed inwardly. That explained why she was afraid of the shadows last night... or this night.

Ally watched Dumbledore closely.

"Candied Strawberries." he spoke clearly.

Ally and Lily rushed forward to catch up, but it was too late. The stone gargoyle jumped back into place.

"Candied Strawberries." Ally whispered.

The gargoyle refused to budge.

"Candied Strawberries." Lily whispered.

The gargoyle still refused to move Ally sighed inwardly.

"Dumbledore obviously doesn't want us in there."

"I wonder why," Lily asked. "Maybe he sealed his office shut... or maybe he just doesn't want us in there."

"I think he knows that we're here," Ally said. "He nodded at us in the common room."

"I saw that too," Lily confirmed. "He must know that we're here."

"Maybe he's saying that we don't need to be here right now." Ally suggested.

Lily nodded.

"I guess so, but what are we going to do in the meantime?"

"We could tour the castle..." Ally suggested.

"Well..." Lily began to walk. "What else is there to do?"

Ally followed behind her and they slowly made their way down the castle. Not knowing quite where they were going, they wandered for a while, finally deciding on the Great Hall. If anything was going to happen, it would probably happen there.

The walked silently through the halls, and they never ran into Filch. That was odd, they admitted, but not unheard of. Maybe he was simply... doing something else at the moment. In their minds, Ally and Lily both knew that this was ludicrous, but... you never know.

The reached the Great Hall, and were shocked to find nothing there. The tables were lined accordingly. Nothing missing, nothing added to the hall. Ally strolled around with Lily and they both agreed that there was nothing there.

They walked to the Charms hall, nothing, the transfiguration classroom, nothing. In fact, no place they thought of had anything out of normal in it. Lily and Ally were running out of luck as they finally made the long trip into the dungeons.

Ally's hopes were almost distinguished when she heard voices.

"Really Flint, I can't believe this! How could you possibly think that I would allow my own Quidditch team to cheat!"

It was Slughorn. Lily and Ally both looked at each other and then they slowly walked to where Slughorn held his office.

"I know you meant well, my dear boy, but this is not the way to victory."

Ally and Lily could clearly see the scene in front of them now. Flint, the quidditch captain, was standing in front of Slughorn's desk. He had the nerve to look unabashed at the way Slughorn was talking to him. He was in his pajamas. Slughorn was also in his pajamas: big, ugly, violet and yellow striped pajamas. He was holding up a set of vials with a brown liquid within it.

"If I didn't understand the pressures that came with being a leader... I don't know how severely you would be punished."

Slughorn placed the vials down on the desk that he was sitting at. Slowly, he got up and placed a fatherly hand on Flint's shoulder.

"Now, Merwyn..."

**(A/N Merwyn is the name of a wizard who invented many jinxes and spells. He can be found at the hplexicon.)**

Ally had to clap her hand over her mouth from giggling. Lily seemed to have the same problem, she was bent over with her mouth closed tightly, trying not to laugh. What kind of name was _Merwyn_?

"I don't think that I need to mention this to anyone else. Let's keep this between us," Slughorn whispered loudly. "I can't disqualify you if I want Slytherin to win this year, now can I?"

He gave out a jovial laugh and then continued on with a bit more seriousness in his voice.

"I'll let you off on a warning. But I mean this. If I ever catch you brewing a potion to enhance your team's chances on winning the cup, I'll have to cut you from the team."

"Yes, Professor," Flint said. "I understand."

"Good boy, Merwyn!" Slughorn clapped him on the shoulder. "You best be on your way then. You'll want to get a good night's sleep. Hogsmeade is tomorrow! We can't have you missing that!"

Flint stalked out of the room. Ally and Lily ducked into the shadows to let him pass. She could see a triumphant smirk on Flint's face as he left the room. He had, after all, gotten off with no punishment.

Slughorn then left the room. Under his arm he had stashed the vials. As he turned to lock the door to the office, Lily flicked her wand and two vials came soaring into her hand.

Once Slughorn had left, Ally looked at Lily incredulously as she handed the vials over to her.

"What did you do that for?" Ally asked, accepting the vials and stowing them in her robe pockets.

"Well," Lily said mysteriously. "You never know when we might need them."

Ally nodded and they left the dungeons quickly, having no need to stay there anymore.

"I guess everything _does_ happen for a reason," she said to herself.

Ally and Lily slowly watched the sun come up from behind the windows. They had reached the Great hall before anyone was up and managed a few hungry bites before leaving the hall. They didn't want to be caught by anyone. A few students had seen them, but hadn't said anything. As far as they knew, they had just woken up early that day in anticipation of Hogsmeade.

Ally and Lily waited breakfast and caught the first carriage to Hogsmeade. They didn't want to arouse suspicion so they had jumped out of the carriage before it came to the entrance of the village. If anyone saw them, it would be bad. They didn't want anyone to note that two Lilys and two Allys had come to Hogsmeade at different times.

Ally and Lily pulled up the hoods of their cloaks. Ally almost mentally slapped herself for not thinking of that before. It was beginning to rain so no one noticed; in fact a few other people pulled their hoods up as well.

They ran into the small alley that they had been in when they had gone back in time. The rain had lightened up slightly.

"Where are we now?" Ally asked. "Are we in the Three Broomsticks?"

Lily immediately looked into the window into the pub, but then she ducked and pulled Ally down. Ally was about to rebuke her, but then the window was thrown open by MadamWinchcombe, who was muttering about the room being 'stuffy'.

Ally and Lily let out the breath they had been holding.

"She really shouldn't do that."

"You mean open windows?"

"Yeah," Ally wrinkled her nose. "Dangerous thing, opening windows, you never know who you're opening them to."

"Like a bunch of time travelers?" Lily asked.

"Like a bunch of slimy, evil, no good, time travel—hey!"

"Sorry," Lily said. "Couldn't resist."

Ally laughed along with Lily and they watched through the window as Madam Winchcombe brought their past selves the first round of Butterbeers.

"Hey..." Ally asked, when James and Sirius came in. "Did you feel anything weird when we got the third round of Butterbeer?"

"Yeah, I did." Lily said as James questioned them and they yawned tiredly. "It felt like I had more energy and—"

"You were more awake..."

Ally and Lily pondered over this as a second round of Butterbeers arrived. James and Sirius were talking animatedly as Lily and Ally started to fall asleep.

They were still talking when Lily ordered the third round of Butterbeer. That was when James started to warn Lily on having a third round, surprisingly a rowdy customer called out.

"Hey—hey Madam Winchcombe!" he called. "We need some service here!"

Madam Winchcombe sighed and put down the Butterbeers destined for Lily's and Ally's table. By coincidence, she happened to set them down right next to the window where Lily and Ally were watching.

Lily snapped her fingers and hr face lit up.

"Al! The vials! I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"

Lily waved her wand and the Butterbeers floated over. Ally nodded and took both vials. She poured the odd colored potion into both of them and then Lily set them back onto the table.

Madam Winchcombe appeared and took the two Butterbeers to their table. Ally and Lily watched as Lily took a sip and then brightened up. With renewed energy, they watched their past selves talk swiftly with James and Sirius before skipping happily out of the Three Broomsticks.

The rain had let up, but they didn't think their past selves noticed, as they were talking vibrantly to themselves and James and Sirius. Ally and Lily followed them closely before stopping a few feet away from where the group was standing.

Ally shook a branch and then stepped back as she swore Sam had looked at her. Lily hid behind a tree to and sent Ally a glare. _What did you do that for?_

Ally shrugged and waited for a few minutes. Then she turned around. Sam was still looking spaced out; _I hope she didn't recognize me..._

Then, she heard herself say 'dog problems' and Sam stopped looking at the tree. They watched their past selves walk away from Sam and talk about how nice she would look with a different colored hair.

The conversation was boring to Lily and Ally. They had, after all, already lived through it. They followed closely behind the past Lily, Ally, Sam, Sirius, James, and Remus as they walked back to Hogsmeade.

Lily and Ally watched Sam realize what they had been telling her. They watched themselves hug Sam. Remus did look dreadfully sick know that they had a better look at him

Ally found it extremely funny, when, by accident, Lily twirled her wand and a butterfly shot out of it. She could barely stop herself from laughing when the past Lily watched it fly away.

Then, they heard the screaming from the streets all over again. Lily and Ally followed their group as they fought against the crowd.

They saw James flip the invisibility cloak over them.

The crowd was pushing them toward the wall. Ally could distantly hear James' wand tapping the brick before a particularly rude person pushed Lily into the wall.

But Lily didn't run into the secret alley. Instead, she bumped into herself.

Ally was quick to act. She pulled Lily to the side. But not before the past Lily looked back and caught a glimpse of red hair.

"That was close!" Lily whispered. "Come on. Let's get to the main streets!"

They sidled along the wall, careful not to be pushed aside. They crowd eventually thinned out and Lily and Ally could walk again. They reached the streets and found themselves in yet another alley.

Their view was not pleasant.

Ally nudged Lily in the arm.

"Look," she whispered as quietly as possible. "They're patrolling the streets."

"Death Eaters," Lily confirmed. "Look what they're doing."

She pointed to a Death Eater who was sketching runes on the side of a building.

"The Darkness, remember. We only have a few seconds to get to the alley by the Three Broomsticks."

Lily and Ally ran from alley to alley and reached the place across from their destination.

Lily held up three fingers.

Three...

Two...

One...

Lily and Ally ran for their life (literally) and crossed the street just in time for a Death Eater to turn his back to them. Also, just in time for all the lights to go out. And just in time to see a group of Dementors float over the village.

They waited... and waited... and waited...

James did not come by... Sirius did not come by... Remus did not come by... Sam did not come by. No one came. Not even a few Death Eaters. It was all dark. Lily and Ally did not dare light their wands in fear of being found. If they did... it would mean that they could be caught...

Soon, they heard their own voices...

"What happened?" Ally heard herself ask. "What is it?"

"It must be a boundary... Someone doesn't want us to get in."

"How did the others get in...?"

"I don't know...There must be a flaw somewhere."

"The Dark Lord makes no flaws..."

Ally and Lily watched the Death Eaters talk and appear before their frightened selves. They watched the conversation happen. Bella, Lucius... they all appeared, even the unsightly man. Ally reached a hand out.

"No!" Lily whispered urgently. "We have to wait for the right time!"

"But we're going to die!"

"We might die if we don't wait!"

"Ah, torture is my expertise. I'm afraid I'm not suited for the simple killing curse. It brings no satisfaction to my part. Bella, would you like to?"

Ally saw Bella raise her wand.

"AVADA..." Ally and Lily reached out, their hands unseen, masked in darkness.

"K—"

Ally and Lily jerked their selves backwards into the alley. Ally kept a tight hand clamped over her past self's mouth.

"Where did they go?"

"They disappeared."

"Should we search for them? The Dark Lord won't be pleased."

"NO! We tell him nothing! We don't look, we never found them! He won't tolerate failure!"

"Let's leave while we can! Now, come sister!"

Lily and Ally breathed a sigh of relief. It had all worked out. They let go of their charges mouths and stepped back.

Ally watched her past self look at her stunned. Ally jumped and realized that they didn't know if anyone else was out there looking for them. It would be pointless to have them self killed when they had just saved their own lives. Lily seemed to be thinking of the same thing.

"Quickly!" Lily said. "Go back!"

"Just go!" Ally said. "You're wasting time."

Ally watched herself blur out of the world as the past Lily swung the gold necklace around herself. Just in time for the light to return to the world.

**SWaddict1986: Thank you so much for being a constant reviewer! As you can see from this chapter, a potion that enhances your energy and alertness was in the Butterbeer. Actually, the chapter confusion was my fault, I missed a chapter. I'm profoundly sorry! I never meant to miss it, it just happened. Sorry! Don't worry about the boys and Sam, they're fine.**

**Rylie D: You rock for reviewing! This chapter was the time turner sequence; I've put in a few things that I hope you guys didn't catch onto too fast!**

**ComplicatedDarknesS0103: Thank you so much! That Remus Sam thing was just a time filler thing really; I didn't feel like putting it into another chapter. Putting it into the summer was out of line. Personally, I think Ally and Lily liked doing that to Sam. But that's just how I viewed their characters. It was really a distraction from the real plot. Lily and Ally saving themselves was my favorite part to write, though I hope I didn't make it too confusing. It was quiet difficult. Thank you sooooooo much!**

**greenday and hp: BUT IT DOEN'T STOP THERE! evil laughter It will continue! Actually, this story is going to be quiet long... now that I think about it.**


	25. Chapter 25 The Daily Prophet

**(A/N This is the most fun EVER! I _love_ being Rita Skeeter!)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own HP. Only OC.**

**Chapter 25-The Daily Prophet**

_**THE DAILY PROPHET**_

**_Scare at the Village of Hogsmeade_**

_Last night, Ministry officials explained to the magical world exactly what occurred at Hogsmeade. The Village was shrouded in darkness as both Death Eaters and Dementors attacked the village. Thankfully, no one was killed, though several injuries had occurred. Aurors were dispatched immediately after Rubeus Hagrid, groundkeeper at Hogwarts, informed the Ministry that something was happening to the village. Several streets of the village had been shrouded in darkness from a combination of wizard runes, and the power of the Dementors. Hagrid, unfortunately, was unavailable for questioning. Aurors arrived on the scene to help scores of witches and wizards flee the scene. Four students, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Samantha Howell, were caught in the struggle._

_The four students were said to have fought bravely alongside the Aurors. The Death Eaters were beaten back. Several were captured, but a number of them had disappeared before they could be caught._

_Those who have been captured have been taken into the Ministry for questioning on Lord (Dark Lord's name) and his motives. So far, no Death Eater has given away any information. Veritaserum is in high demand, but it seems as if the Ministry potion brewers are unable to brew any. Their ladles were jinxed by a Death Eater while he was being taken into custody. Anyone who sees a ladle river dancing is to inform the Ministry immediately._

_"This," says Millicent Bagnold, Assistant Minister of Magic, "is an outrage. This war has flown under our noses long enough. If this ministry had acknowledged the war, then this entire fiasco would not have happened. Not only was Hogsmeade - a valuable part of wizard history and tradition - endangered, but our young students were involved. Our future lies with our young, if we cannot protect them against this threat, then who can? Who's to say, if we had not been informed, that these Death Eaters could not have burnt the entire village and the people within it to the ground! I will not stand for this. If I were Minister, I would wring these Death Eaters and their Lord by the neck!"_

_The Minister himself is in question. Millicent Bagnold ma, in fact get her wish. The public is rallying, specifically the concerned parents of students. They want a new Minister, one who would be capable to defend their homes and their school._

_Abraxas Malfoy, well known for his donation and charitable acts toward the Ministry, was available for questioning._

_"My son, Lucius, is in his seventh and final year of Hogwarts. As a parent, I am shocked and stunned to hear that Hogwarts had allowed this to happen. But I am still not entirely convinced that this is the act of a new Dark Lord. If the Ministry would investigate it, I would, of course, pay for a full investigation. I am concerned that a new Minister may upset the delicate situation that the wizarding world is in."_

_Abraxas continued to express his concerns over the management of Hogwarts to this reporter who listened ardently._

_"Dumbledore, I should think, as a powerful wizard and Order of Merlin; first class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, and a part of the International Society of Wizards, should know better. Hogsmeade was within his range. Hogwarts, of course, is his chief concern. But when all of his students leave to go to Hogsmeade you would think he would be aware of something like this happening. The Minister himself should not be questioned. I have met him on countless occasions. He is not the one who is running this society into the ground, it is Dumbledore. He is the one who has been fueling the rumors of this Dark Lord. Dumbledore has always been known to be involved in something of this nature."_

_The Wizangamot has decided to arrange a meeting. The Minister of Magic, despite outside attempts, has barricaded himself in his office. No word yet of how he has taken this immense blow to his title. Dumbledore, on the other hand, is as active as ever and raising the awareness of the wizarding situation._

_"Dumbledore is only, and will ever be, concerned for the welfare of his students." says Amelia Bones, young Assistant to the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. "If he hears about a war, he will want to protect his students from the brunt of it. Teach them and train them to protect them selves. It's a horrible thing, how he's being treated; he should be honored and respected as a teacher. He was like a grandfather to me when I was in school. I don't believe that he would ever spread lies."_

_When this reporter asked about his position in the attack of Hogsmeade, Bones replied in honesty._

_"It is not Dumbledore who should be blamed for the attack on Hogsmeade. He had no power over the regulations and enforcements of boundaries. He could not control the Dementors or the Ministry officials there, just like the attack on the quidditch stadium not long ago. Dumbledore is not at fault. He had, in fact, gone to the Ministry the week before the attack. They laughed him out. The only people who can be blamed for this are the Minister and the higher ups who would not believe him."_

_Amelia Bones refused to say any more on the subject. The Daily Prophet attempted to get more interviews from the higher Ministry officials, but it was immediately made clear that no one was allowed to see what was happening in the government._

_Is this new censorship boding well for the government? It remains to be seen if a new Minister will be elected, or a new Headmaster for Hogwarts. If a new Minister were to be elected, Millicent Bagnold would be the first to receive office. If Bagnold proves to be insufficient, then it remains to be seen._

_Aurors are in a high demand now. Alastor Moody, from the Head of Auror Placement, is now recruiting those available to work._

_"This new war brings in high demand, and don't look at me that way Rita, you know what I'm talking about. This war is real. What we need are some real fighters, not this Ministry garbage..."_

_Alastor subsided to mumbling and this reporter listened in intently._

_"CONSTANT VIGILANCE! That's what we need, some good fighters who have some constant vigilance. We need to prepare ourselves for the coming war. We need a Minister that knows what war is all about too. Bagnold is the perfect fit for such a position. Our current Minister does not accept anything that will disrupt his afternoon cup of tea. That's not acceptable! I know Bagnold, she's perfect for this. She's ready and she's smart. She'll know what to do. Lord (Dark Lord's name) won't get away with attacking Hogsmeade. I will personally lead the charge against him. You can write that down Rita... oh, you've already written it. I see. Nice quill you got there, cost you much?"_

_When confronted with his opinion on Dumbledore, Alastor conceded to voicing his thoughts._

_"I always liked Dumbledore, nice man. He's dead smart and he's already won a war for us. Unless anyone has forgotten how he defeated (Previous Dark Lord's name). He's smart and he's aware. I'd trust no other man to lead the war. Don't get between him and his students... that's all I can say."_

_You-Know-Who was not available for questioning during these past events._

_Is the Wizarding world headed for war? Will there be a new Minister? The answers are what everyone is dying to know. This young reporter, Rita Skeeter, promises her readers that she will report the truth diligently, and never stretch and distort it._

_**THE DAILY PROPHET**_

_**New Minister of Magic**_

_Last night, an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot occurred deep in the recesses of the Ministry. Early in the morning, this reporter got a sneak preview into the deep argument occurring in the courtroom._

_Dolores Umbridge was on the spot in defense of the current Minister of Magic. Dolores was wearing a lovely pink outfit with a bow clip that went wonderfully together._

_"The current Minister is the best Minister we have had so far," she said. "All that he asks is for your patience in sorting out the current ordeals that he is facing. He has been pushed and pulled in different directions by the press."_

_This reporter zealously reports that this is not true in any way, shape, or form. The press is to report the truth as it is seen._

_"The Minister asks for your kindness and your cooperation in this long and grueling process. No wizard in this society suffers more than he does now. He is painstakingly taking hours out of his time to sort through all of your letters and complaints. No other man in this country commands more respect than he does, we ask that you show him good will, as he does you. It is improper for us to lose our heads when a small error in our defense occurs. If we acted like this in the past then we would never had been able to defeat (Previous Dark Lord's name)."_

_Several wizards spoke out in argument when she stated this. In the war against (Previous Dark Lord's name), a new Minister_ had_ been chosen._

_"Nonetheless, that new minister had been chosen after years of the previous Minister's rule."_

_The same wizards pointed out that they had been losing up until that point._

_"This council has always remained loyal to the Minister," Dolores continued. "Why are you panicking now? This is not the time to be rash and make quick decisions that will affect us for a lifetime. All the Minister asks is for your kindness, patience, loyalty, courage, time, and to remain calm. I don't think that that's too much to ask for since he is the Minister!"_

_Dolores continued to act in the Minister's defense while the council elected the young Amelia Bones to speak for them._

_"The Minister has not responded to any of the pressing concerns so far."_

_"Patience and time," Dolores said._

_"He has ignored the general public entirely. No man has ever shunned the wizarding public as much as he has now. I do not think that it is a bad decision to elect a new Minister._

_"Kindness," said Dolores lightly._

_"The public is afraid." said Amelia, ignoring Dolores. "He has not acted in any way at all to this recent development. It is time for a change. What we need is someone who will not frighten the public by barricading himself in his office!"_

_A general murmur of agreement rose from the council. But that did not stop Dolores from furthering her cause._

_"Courage and loyalty," Dolores told Amelia._

_"The Minister is not doing anything, nor do I think that he will do anything!"_

_"Remain calm," said Dolores. "We should all remain calm."_

_"I will not remain calm!" Amelia had shouted. "Let us vote now! All those in favor of electing a new minister?"_

_This reporter is glad to say that she had counted the number of hands in the room. It was equal. The Wizengamot would normally have an odd number, but unfortunately this was not the case today. Prewett was out sick. _

_"All those in favor of keeping our Minister?" called Amelia._

_An equal number of hands rose and the council was adjourned for the day. The Wizengamot had left the room quietly. This reporter had gotten a fresh interview with Dolores after the council._

_"I have no doubt in my mind that this council will make the right decision. They have always stood by the Minister's side, as I do, and they will remember that by tomorrow._

_"I am glad with the progress that was made today. It was fair for us to listen to the part of the council who wanted a new minister. And it was fair for us to take a vote. It was all a part of a process that we go through day to day. I think that tomorrow it will be unanimous. The Minister will stay in his office. He asks for patience most of all. Patience..."_

_This reported also managed to get a few words out of Amelia Bones also._

_"If we can all be patient, courageous, calm, loyal, kind and time wise... then why do we need a Minister at all?"_

_The Wizengamot's effort was wasted though. For, early in the next morning, the Minister unlocked his office door. He has fled to Bermuda with a large trunk full of socks. If anyone sees a man with an overly large beard wearing ducky slippers they are to report it to a Ministry official immediately. It seems that the ex-Minister was lost at sea somewhere around Spain. Bagnold was named Minister of Magic a few hours later._

_**THE DAILY PROPHET**_

_**Rules and Regulations**_

_Millicent Bagnold, newly named Minister of Magic, has passed a list of rules and regulations to be taken into consideration by all public. These rules are for the safety of the public. It is for your families and your friends sakes that this list was created._

_1. You are advised to never leave the house alone. Bring a friend or a family member._

_2. Arrange all meetings and appointments to avoid the hours of darkness. Should you be caught roaming outside in the dark, you will be questioned and taken into the Ministry._

_3. Arrange for security measures around your homestead. Ward casters are available at the Ministry for your usage. Arrange for your family to be taught shield and disillusionments charms. Young children should be taught side-along apparition. A safe haven should be set up for every household to apparate to._

_4. Agree on safety questions for families to answer. If a Death Eater is masquerading as a family member or a close friend, they can be detected. Make sure these questions are obscure and random._

_5. Observe friends, family, neighbor and shop owners for suspicious behavior. Report all odd behavior to the Inquisitorial Department of the Ministry. They may be under the imperius curse._

_6. Any sign of the Dark Mark, a snake ensnared around a skull, should be reported to the Auror department immediately. DO NOT attempt to detain a Death Eater and DO NOT attempt to enter any building with the Dark Mark floating above it._

_7. Sighting of inferi have been reported. If any sign of inferi appear around you, report it to the Ministry IMMEDIATELY. Inferi are animated corpses. They are not alive! No wizard can be brought back from the dead! Every witch and wizard should know that fire acts as a repellant to inferi._

_8. You-Know-Who is recruiting other witches and wizards. ANY contact with You-Know-Who will put you under suspicion if you do not report it to the Ministry. Any contact with You-Know-Who may put you in danger. Do not seek him out. Do not attempt to contact him._

_9. If you have any other concerns, contact the Ministry. We are reachable by floo, owl, and by the telephone booth in London._

Later in the day, five thousand witches and wizards reported that someone was walking outside in the dark. Three thousand reported that the Ward Casters were too busy. Half of them reported wards going wrong. One woman reported her house going pink.

Two hundred people reported that their children could not do magic outside of Hogwarts, and therefore could not cast shield and disillusionment spells. Three hundred students were sent Ministry owls telling them not to use underage magic. Two men reported that their spells backfired and were unable to enter their households, as a large shield was stuck on their arm.

Around thirty children were splinched and then had to be put back together by a Ministry official. Four adults were stuck in walls. Two hundred witches and wizards argued that they had no safe haven, and asked to use the Ministry as theirs.

Around one thousand witches and wizards were blasted into unconsciousness because they had forgotten the answer to their safety question. Some witches and wizards called Aurors and then complained that the Aurors were too busy.

Around six thousand witches and wizards reported a friend, family member, neighbor, shop-owner, painting, pet, quill, person they passed on the street, to be acting oddly. Three thousand of those people lost a good friend that day.

Four thousand mothers reported that they had seen an odd tattoo on their son's arm. This resulted in three hundred "Shut up" "No, you shut up" fights between disgruntled male teenagers and disgruntled Ministry officials. No one can escape the wrath of teenagers.

Four hundred witches and wizards panicked and called the Ministry official when they thought they saw the Dark Mark. It turned out that it was actually a rare sighting of the Northern Lights. Three hundred dinner plans were broken when family members refused to enter a house because they hadn't gotten a good view of the rooftop.

Approximately forty witches claimed they saw inferi; it turned out to just be their drunken husbands. One hundred people claimed their long lost grandfather had come back from the dead. Three witches almost lit their houses on fire. And one little boy named Charlie caught a broomstick on fire and chased it around the village, scaring several wizarding families.

Three thousand calls came in from scared witches and wizards who thought that You-Know-Who had attempted to contact them through. Four hundred of these letters were from Mother-in-laws who wanted to yell at them for abandoning their dinner plans. One hundred witches found out their husbands were cheating them. One thousand witches and wizards had not opened the letter. The rest had simply received a letter from a close neighbor who had a knack for the cryptic arts.

And green ink was no longer for sale... anywhere.

By nine o' clock, every last way into the Ministry of Magic was jammed shut. The lines next to the telephone booths in London were so large that it was drawing muggle attention. Every owl owned by a witch or wizard did not come back for three days because the Owlery at the Ministry was so jammed that it was almost impossible to get a letter through.

By the end of the week, every trashcan was filled to the top with the infamous chart of rules and regulations.

At Hogwarts...

April, May, and June past swiftly by and Hogsmeade became a memory that was rarely revisited by Lily and Ally. James, Remus, Sirius, and Sam were congratulated many times on being mentioned in the prophet. They became heroes and celebrities for several weeks after the attack. Soon, the ruckus died down. A lot of the students looked at the attack as a chance to socialize. Students were always asking each other the same question.

"So where were you when Hogsmeade was attacked? Were you at Honeydukes...? Did you see a Death Eater?"

Lily and Ally didn't mind that their involvement passed by unnoticed. In fact, they were glad no attention was drawn to them. After all, this would pass by quickly.

Their diricawl in Care Of magical Creatures was received by their teacher as the most like their owners. Ally wanted to keep him, but they weren't allowed, Ministry rule. She was tempted to fight them about this, but Hagrid had agreed to keep him. Ally had hugged his waist, being the only part of him that she could reach.

In the first week of June, Lily celebrated her birthday. Ally had thrown her a surprise party. The entire Gryffindor tower was invited. The Marauders arranged it. Lily was happy anyway, even though most of the people there were only there to eat and dance. She was just glad that someone had thought of her.

Halfway through the party, they sung Lily "Happy Birthday" and cut the large three layer chocolate cake that had to be carried up by five house elves. Lily was against using house elves, but somehow, Ally convinced Lily to forget about it and enjoy the party.

At the end of the party, near midnight, Lily opened the presents from her friends.

Ally's was first. Ally was very proud of her selection of a very old Charms book from her uncle's library. Lily loved it immediately and would have started to read it right away if Ally hadn't persuaded her to open the rest of the present first.

Lily sighed and put the book aside.

"Open mine next!" James said eagerly and pushed a brown package toward her. Lily looked at the package curiously and then turned to Remus.

"It doesn't explode, does it?" she asked cautiously, with her eyebrows raised.

"Not to my knowledge," he said mysteriously.

Lily looked at him and then James. She slid the wrapping off and opened the box. Lily was delighted to see that it didn't explode. It was a small silver charm bracelet. The first charm was, of course, a Quaffle.

Lily laughed and clipped in on her wrist. She then turned to her next present, which was a box of sugar quills from Sirius.

"Good for not paying attention in class," Sirius advised.

'Like _that_ would ever happen," Ally said.

She got a uniquely Pria chess set from Carla and Pria, complete with a dragon, a troll and moat on both sides of the board. Remus gave her another book about incredibly advanced Charms and a box of sweets. Peter gave her a hand knitted sweater.

"From my mum," he said quietly and shyly.

Lily thanked him kindly.

The only thing left for them all to attend was the end of the year feast. Finals were over. No more classes would be in session... and after the feast... the incantation.


	26. Chapter 26 The End of the Year

Chapter 26-The End of the Year

There's no feast like a Hogwarts feast, is what Wizards say. And there truly isn't, Ally could barely contain her excitement. She was happy and sad at the same time, happy to be going home and sad to be leaving the home that she had known for the past year. Lily had sympathized, she felt the same way.

The banners on the wall were decorated in Ravenclaw colors. Ravenclaw had won the house cup for the first time in five years. The Gryffindors didn't mind losing, at least it wasn't Slytherin.

Flint, it turned out, was caught using potions to enhance his team's performance in the Quidditch finals. Gryffindor was awarded the cup by default. Hufflepuff had come in second, and Ravenclaw was third. Fourth place was not given to Slytherin, since they had been disqualified.

Dumbledore arrived a few moments after Ally and Lily had. He stood and the talk died away instantly.

"Another year is finished," Dumbledore said happily. His demeanor was cheerful and tired. "Let me first; offer my congratulations to all of the seventh years who have just completed their N.E.W.T.s. They are, of course, graduating this year, and we will all miss them sorely."

A storm of applause and cheers broke out from the seventh years.

"Look, there's Alice!" Ally whispered.

Alice was sitting next to Frank and they were both clapping very loudly. Alice was cheering. As it turns out, they are one of the few students at Hogwarts who had completed there O.W.L.s with full marks. Several Ministry officials had come to offer them jobs. They turned each and every one down except for Alastor Moody, who they had at least listened to.

"And now," said Dumbledore. "a round of applause for all the fifth years that have just completed their O.W.L.s."

A rush of cheering came from all the fifth years. It had been a harsh time for them; their testing had been around when Hogsmeade had been attacked. Several students from Ravenclaw alone had fainted during the Defense Against the Dark Arts section.

"Ah, what a year it has been." Dumbledore continued once the applause died out. "We've made new friends...

"And new enemies... I believe you all know the danger that lies outside these stone walls. It's been a hard year. It's been a long year. But in the end, all one needs is friends from all over..."

His eyes wept the four tables in front of him.

"Friends who are brave, friends who are loyal, friends who are ambitious, and friends who are intelligent, together, we can defeat the dark days ahead of us. Count your friends, for some will not be there in the end."

A mummer rose up in the house tables. Dumbledore said odd things... sure, but how often does he give away warnings. Ally looked at Lily. _Lily's one friend... _she glanced at Sam, who met her eyes and she smiled. _Sam's two._ She looked down the Gryffindor table. _Sirius is three, James is four, Remus is five..._ She looked at the other tables. _I don't know any Hufflepuffs..._ That left the Slytherin table. _Severus is six... I have six friends._

Ally looked up at the Headmaster. He bent his head at the students who were looking up at him. It was almost as if he was saying _Are you sure...?_

Ally nodded, even though the gesture was unnecessary. She saw several other students nod to. Dumbledore had that effect on you. He straightened up and raised his hands to draw all attention to him again.

"And now," his eyes twinkled, "Onto lighter subjects. I believe that we still have the house cup to award! So far, in fourth place, Hufflepuff, with three hundred ninety two points, Slytherin stands in third, with four hundred ten points. Gryffindor landed in second place, with four hundred forty three points.

"And Ravenclaw is in the lead with four hundred seventy points."

Large applause broke out from the Ravenclaw table. They stamped their feet and clapped their hands. All the other tables clapped politely, Slytherin the least of all. They wee still mad that they were disqualified from the cup. Flint looked sour.

"And now, time for dessert. I've said my part. It's time for you to do the rest."

Dumbledore sat down while the students applauded. It was confused applaud, yes, but he was still clapped for. Ally wondered if she should count her friends again.

**(A/N Cookies awarded to anyone who could possibly figure out what's happening... This next part is a big hint, if you're smart enough to look for it.)**

Hogsmeade Train Station...

Ally and Lily stood in the mass of students at the Train Station. The scarlet engine gleamed brightly in the morning sun. Smoke billowing from it's top. Ally turned to see Lily saying goodbye to a few of the students that Ally didn't know.

Ally watched Severus board the train, far away from them, and near the end of the train. He waved slightly and Ally and Lily, simply to be silly, ran and gave him a goodbye hug. He couldn't resist rolling his eyes and hugging them back... _slightly_. The last time he had said goodbye, at the previous Dueling Club, Lily and Ally wouldn't let go of him.

"You _are_ going to let me board the train," he told them as less of a request, more of an order.

Ally shook her head childishly.

"Nonsense, not until you promise to write to us about how horrible life is without us."

"Fill us in on all the dramatic details!" Lily said.

"Don't leave a depressed comment out!"

He sighed and finally agreed to write. Lily and Ally had threatened that if he didn't, they would send thousands of pink letters with hearts on them. Ally and Lily left Severus alone after that, figuring he needed to recover. They went to find Sam.

Sam was easy to find, she was talking to Peter quietly near the middle of the train, about to board.

"Sam!" Ally cried and ran to give her a hug.

Lily joined her and also gave Sam a goodbye hug. Sam laughed it off and returned the gesture.

"We'll miss you!" Ally said. "You should come visit us!"

"I can't sorry." Sam said, not really sounding sorry. "My family wants to go on vacation. Were visiting an aunt I have in London. I'll be busy all summer."

"That's too bad." Lily said, and then whispered in her ear. "You'll miss the Animagi transformation!"

"I know! I'm sorry, but it is illegal..." she pouted. "You're not mad I hope!"

"Of course not," Ally and Lily said.

"Good," Sam smiled and then waved them goodbye. She boarded the train with Peter, waving as she did.

Ally turned around. Alice was coming toward her, waving a letter.

"Al!" she said. "Hey, Al!" Ally waved at her and met her halfway. Alice came running and shoved the paper under her nose.

"Read it." she said cheerfully. "You'll never believe it."

Ally looked at her curiously and then cast her eyes down to the paper. Ally shrieked happily as she read it and enveloped Alice in a hug.

"You're an Auror!" she said happily.

"Frank too! We're going to be trained by Alastor Moody himself. He's brilliant Ally! A little bit off, sure, but brilliant! I can't wait, I start this summer! The Ministry's already called me in."

"That's great!" Lily said, smiling. "Who'd have thought it? I always knew you had a thing for Dueling."

"Thanks Lily." she said. "I have to go meet up with Frank now; we're going to go say goodbye to Professor McGonagall. I'll see you sometime!"

In a blur of robes, Alice disappeared into the crowd. Ally missed her already; she had been so nice all those times, always very patient with Ally's lack of common sense. Ally turned to see Lily watching over to the left of her.

"What is it?" Ally asked.

"They found us." she said.

Ally didn't need her to explain who it was. Before Lily could protest, James had swept her up in a hug and twirled her around.

"James! James! Put me down!" she shouted. "This isn't funny!"

It must have seemed funny to James though, because he was laughing as he set her back down. "Ah, Lil." he said fondly. "I'll miss you."

"I won't miss you."

"No, I think you will."

"No I won't."

"Yes."

"No."

Ally rolled her eyes and said goodbye to each of the Marauders. Once again, she thanked Sirius for the watch she had been given. James and Lily were still bickering when Ally had to break them up. They said their last goodbye's to the Marauders and finally boarded the train, after dropping their luggage off, of course.

Ally and Lily found a compartment near the back of the train, far away from prying eyes and settled into their seat.

"Make sure the door's locked." Ally said.

Lily stood and shut the door, sliding the lock into place she took out the book that they had been studying from for the past half year. Lily placed the book in front of them.

"Do you want to go through the incantation one more time?"

Ally could sense that she was nervous, Ally was nervous too. But she didn't want to jinx her chances by studying to fiercely.

"No, I'm good," Ally said. "I think I'll be happy with what I've got. If I get a bunny tail, who cares? It was going to happen eventually."

Lily laughed lightly and flipped through the pages to where they were. She left the book open and handed it to Ally.

"You know what would be really funny?"

"What?"

"If Tom Riddle has a bunny tail."

Ally laughed at the image of Lord Voldemort hopping around and took the book.

"Do you want to go first?"

"It doesn't matter to me, either way; I'll have to do it eventually. You can go first if you want to though; I'm not in a hurry."

"Thanks!" Ally said happily and took the book.

Following the instructions, she held her wand up high and took a deed breath, hoping that her Latin would pull through.

_"Ostendo mihi ut ego sum, pondero in bestia Regnum."_

Lily tensed and watched as Ally continued with her incantation, biting her lower lip in worry.

"_Exsisto ego no, ego volo, vel ego run."_

Ally felt her thoughts clear rapidly; she was getting cold and numb. Her mind was rapidly drifting off. The noise of the train faded from her ears. The light in the room was disappearing. Dark spots clouded her vision and slowly took over her eyes. She could barely felt the wand on her finger tips.

_"Ostendo mihi ut EGO sum in lux lucis of meus macula. Ostendo mihi ut EGO sum castimonia planta quod physics ut an bestia."_

Lily watched as Ally slumped backward and closed her eyes as she muttered the final sequence of the incantation.

_ "Muto mihi quod plumbum mihi obviam a simplex vita. Dimidium vir , dimidium bestia."_

Lily breathed a sigh of relief as Ally slumped back on her seat, in a trance. She said everything correctly, what a relief. Not a word out of place and not a word out mispronounced. Lily waited with her fingers crossed as Ally left this world and journeyed to her own subconscious to learn what her Animagus form was.

Ally's mind...

"...dimidium bestia..." Ally finished. Her vision was already gone and she could hear and feel nothing around her. The train faded from around her and she sat up.

She was surrounded in a surreal atmosphere. It was foggy and white. She could see water beneath her and the fog was cold. Slowly, ever so slowly, she stood up, her wand gripped in her hand tightly. She couldn't see anything beyond the fog, and her thoughts were getting away with her.

Had she said the Latin correctly, had she missed a phrase or—or even changed a word? Will she be stuck in here? Will she be unable to transform? What if she didn't even _have_ and Animagus form... what if she was never meant to become one?

Worse case scenario... she was a fish... there was water beneath her...

Ally panicked and screamed for Lily.

"LILY! HELP! I THINK I'M A FISH!"

A shadow behind her jumped and skittered slightly. Ally jumped to and spun around to face...a distant shadow.

The shadow was running around in circles, clearly startled by Ally's scream. She could clearly see four legs and Ally breathed a sigh of relief. _I'm not a fish... what am I?_

She peered closer, through the fog, she could make out a skittish animal that stopped abruptly and stared at her in curiosity.

Ally stepped closer.

The beast stepped closer.

Ally took one more step...

She could see it now. It had pointed ears and black, spotted, glossy fur that covered its entire body. It pounced forward and trailed around Ally, Ally noticed that it was smaller than a normal beast of its kind. But it was true that Ally was shorter than most other people. They seemed to get along rather well. Ally sat down and petted the animal. It purred in its throat and sat down next to Ally.

She rubbed its head fondly. _I'm glad it's this animal; I think I would die if I was a fish or bird. A bird would be hard to be, because you would have to learn to fly. _

The last thing that Ally saw was her own blue eyes staring back at her before she was snapped back to reality.

The Compartment...

Lily watched as Ally tired and sat up abruptly. It was still light out, and Ally was glad that she hadn't taken long. Lily sat up eagerly and faced her friend.

"So...?" she asked.

"I'm not a fish!" Ally let out a jubilant yell and bounced in her seat. "Now it's your turn! I have to know what you're going to be, it's killing me to know!"

"Not so fast!" Lily said, laughing. "What exactly _are_ you. You haven't told me yet."

"In a second," Ally looked at her watch, it was showing a dazed face that said 'Time to tell Lily' on it.

"How long was I out of it? It can't have been that long. It felt like only two minutes..."

"It was far longer than that..." Lily said lightly. "Try two hours."

"Two hours!" Ally exclaimed. "What am I going to do for two hours while you find out what your Animagus form is!"

"I read a book."

"I don't read books."

"You could research your Animal."

Ally considered this for a moment. She did want to know more about what she was going to become, it wouldn't hurt to get a little more information. How fast it was... what it can do...

"Alright," Ally said. "On one condition."

"What?"

"We don't tell each other our Animagus transformation until you're finished with your trance. I don't want to tell you mine yet."

"Fine," Lily said and crossed her arms. "But I'm going to need my book back when you're finished with it."

Ally took the book from the seat next to where she had been in a trance for the last two hours, and handed it back to Lily. Lily took the book and raised her wand.

The words rolled off her tongue easily and smoothly. It was more accurate and less halting then when Ally had done it.

She watched Lily slump back in her seat and she knew what was happening. Lily had probably already lost her sense of sight and feeling. Her eyes were still open. They were pale and distant.

"...dimidium bestia..." Lily finished. Her eyes rolled back and she slumped in her chair. She hand fell and her wand gave of a burst of spectacular white light. Ally blinked her eyes several times and shook her head; spots were still in her vision.

_Lily forgot to mention that..._ Ally bent down and picked up the spell book. She closed it with a snap and then stopped when she was about to put it away.

_Isn't there an index of animals...?_ she trailed off and opened the book again. Sitting down she flipped to the back of the book. She quickly found the animal she was to become and began to read.

_...temperamental..._

Ally remembered the time she had screamed murder when she had turned into Lily. _Yeah, this is the animal for me..._

The more she read the more she could identify with the beauty of the animal she was about to become. She smiled happily and closed the book. She liked what she was about to become. It was a good match for her. She was also glad, that, despite it all, the animal that she was going to change into was very capable when it came to fighting. She didn't want an animal that couldn't fight. That would mean that all her time at Dueling Club had been wasted.

Ally rested in her seat and continued reading. Time passed, and Ally grew impatient as the entranced Lily made no sign of movement. Distantly, she heard footsteps and voices.

"Where are they? We've checked every compartment from here down."

That was James' voice. Ally looked over at Lily, still slumped in her chair, in her trance. Then she looked at her watch that told her 'still fifteen more minutes...'

She started to panic. The footsteps got closer. _If James sees this what will he say? Will they catch us and question us this is illegal! I can't believe this! I've go to hide Lily!_

She frantically looked around her. _Book, book, I've got to hide the book first. _Ally stashed the book in an overhead compartment next to a blanket. Then took the blanket and threw it over the book. She just hoped the Marauders weren't going to notice anything.

She slammed the overhead compartment shut and noticed too late that she had made too much noise.

"I think I heard something."

"Is that them?"

"I think it came from this one."

Ally could hear the door turning and then a click. She tensed and froze where she was, eyes drifting to Lily.

"It's locked."

Ally breathed a sigh of relief. She gave a 'thumbs up' to the unconscious Lily and grinned to herself. _They wouldn't be caught today. _Ally was glad that they had decided to do this on the train.

"Well."

"Well, what?"

"Well, are you a wizard or not?"

"Oh, right. Alohomora."

Ally stopped, a mortified expression on her face, before she slammed her body against the door and refused to budge. She drew out her wand and locked the door again.

"Someone's on the other side."

"Who is it?"

"Hey! Who are you?"

Ally stopped and thought for a moment. She had to have _some_ leeway with the Marauders. They would go when she told them too... right? Maybe if she asked nicely...

"It's Al," she called through the door.

"Al! Is that you? Open the door."

"Sorry," Ally said, while holding the door closed. "I can't do that. Go away now."

"What?" that was Sirius. "You can't do that to us, we've been looking for you for an hour! Open the door, Al, or we'll barge right in!"

"You guys!" Ally said pleadingly. "I really can't open the door! Please trust me when I tell you to _go away_!"

"Alright..."

Ally breathed a sigh of relief. They were going to leave. She knew the Marauders had to have some sort of decency, no matter how well they hid it.

"I guess that means we're breaking in."

Ally stood, shocked, and mentally slapped herself. _Leeway with the Marauders, very funny, Ally, laugh it up, now, they'll find us out._ She stopped and a light bulb turned on in her head.

"Wingardium Leviosa." she whispered. Lily's body, still in a trance, floated up and Ally gently placed her into the overhead compartment. She still held the door with all her might as she heard the Marauders counting down.

"Three..."

Ally levitated a blanket over Lily. She closed the compartment using her wand and Lily was obscured from anyone's view.

"Two..."

Ally kissed her wand and jumped back onto the seat, safely out of the way that the Marauders were soon to come.

"One..."

All four boys ran into the door. Wearing a shocked expression Ally saw each Marauder run into the window and fall down. Ally was bent over laughing at the look on Peter's face. Every boy looked confused and bewildered. James was rubbing her nose tenderly. Sirius had a red bump on his face, and Peter had a welt just above his lip. Remus was the least beat up; he had been in the middle and received the least damage.

By now that Marauders were looking at Ally murderously, but that only caused her to laugh more, their glared burning a hole in her head.

"What's so funny about causing us pain?" James said spitefully.

Ally was laughing to hard to answer and the Marauders picked themselves up from the floor. Sirius and Peter sat next to Ally and James and Remus sat opposite her. Together, they waited for her to stop laughing. Eventually she calmed down and began to talk to them.

"So what did you guys want?" Ally asked, wiping a tear from he eye.

"We just wanted to see how you guys were," James rubbed his nose again. "I didn't think that you would be apart though."

"What?" Ally asked, clueless.

"Where's Lily, aren't you two riding the train together?" Remus repeated for Ally.

"Oh," Ally thought for a moment. "We were, but then I drifted off, tired from the feast last night, and she left. Probably went to say goodbye to a few friends."

"Oh."

_Darn it... I thought that would get rid of James... Perhaps he's thinking that she'll come back. I have to say something that will motivate him to leave, the Marauders will follow. It has to be something that's more important to him then Lily..._

"She probably will even say goodbye to some of her Slytherin friends."

"Okay." said Remus and James.

"_Slytherin, _why does Lily have friends in Slytherin!" Sirius shot up from his seat in protest.

_Yes...! _Ally thought. _I knew that that would get him, I just thought James would get riled up too._

"Well, I have friends in Slytherin too."

Sirius stopped as a look of horror crossed his face. Then he started to seethe and twitch a little. Ally was delighted to see the look of fury on his face.

"You... have friends... in _Slytherin?_" he snarled.

"Of course," Ally said lightly. "That whole... Gryffindor hate Slytherin thing is so over. Remember what Dumbledore said?" she waved her hand carelessly.

"A—what—"

Ally smiled triumphantly. She looked down at her watch. 'Almost time! Hurry!' She looked at the overhead compartment that contained Lily and the book. It was time to put the topper that would send Sirius over the edge.

"Of course," Ally said slyly. "I'm great friends with Severus."

"WHAT!" roared Sirius. "THAT SLIMY LITTLE--!"

"SIRIUS!" called Remus. "Calm down!"

James and Remus pushed Sirius back down into his seat. Ally noticed with a grim expression that her watch now said. 'Cutting it close, aren't you?'

She tried to persuade them to leave again. This time she was getting a little frantic. "You know—she won't be back for a while. She probably won't even be back, I mean, how do you know she isn't looking for you! You should go now."

"What are you talking about?" James asked. "She has to come back sooner or later. And if she's looking for us, she'll look here."

Ally looked down at her watch in alarm. It flashed 'GETTING REALLY NEAR!' she jumped and turned back to the Marauders.

"What about your friends—surely you have to say goodbye—_some_body must miss you. You should really get going now."

"Nope!" James said.

Ally looked at her watch again. 'SHE'S GOING TO WAKE UP!'

"We've already said goodbye to every one we know. We just wanted to catch you two before you went. Why do you want us to le—?"

THUMP!

Lily tumbled out of the overhead compartment. She screamed and landed on the seat below her, the seat that James happened to have been sitting in. She landed on his lap and sat, shocked for a little while.

"Lily!" Ally said cheerfully.

The Marauders looked shocked, especially James, whose mouth was open. Every one was staring at Lily and Ally in turn. Remus started to laugh at how ridiculous it all was. Lily looked mortified. Sirius was still angry that Lily and Ally knew his arch enemy, and Peter was giggling quietly to himself.

"How nice of you to drop in," Ally said. "Though, I do think your timing was rather bad. Normally you're very punctual Lily."

Lily looked up at James and shrieked. She jumped out of his lap and brushed her self off. She looked from Ally to the four Marauders in confusion. Then she flipped her hair back and quite coolly said.

"I don't think my timing was well either, but what can one do? I see the Marauders came to see us off the train, how nice of them."

"Didn't you just come out of the overhead compartment?" Remus asked with a smile.

Lily and Ally looked at each other, a silent conversation passed, and then they answered in unison.

"_No._"

Platform Nine and Three Quarters...

The train came to a slow stop at Kings Cross Station. Ally and Lily could see the large crowd of parents and relatives waiting for the students to disembark. Throughout the entire trip, Lily and Ally, had not been able to get rid of the Marauders, who had made it their job to bring up every subject imaginable and talk for hours about it. Lily and Ally stood up and said goodbye to them as they left the compartment. Ally was glad to see the backs of them. There were really pushing her good mood.

She turned to look outside. There was no sign of their parents yet. The crowd was thinning and Ally could make out a clear path through.

"Let's get our bags." Lily said.

Ally agreed and they grabbed all their things, including the hidden book about Animagi, and left the train. The train station was still crowded, to say the least. Ally and Lily found a small spot next to a stone column to put down their things and sit down.

"Alright," Lily said. 'On the count of three... We say it."

"Okay."

"One...two...three.."

"Tiger."

"Panther."

Ally stopped and squealed in happiness. She hugged Lily. Ally and Lily laughed and joked about how they were both cats. She was happy that she had waited for them both to tell each other. This was going to be hard, they knew, but it was definitely worth it. She was relieved that Lily had gotten something like she had.

"What are we going to do about the summer?" Ally asked. "We have to arrange a meeting of some kind, and we have to start meditating now."

"You could stay at my house," Lily suggested. "I'm going to need all the company I can get. Petunia's inviting her boyfriend over. It's getting to be serious. I don't know if I can stand it."

"I'll ask my mum."

"Good, and remember, meditation starts early tomorrow. Then at lunch—"

"Then at dinner. I know." Ally sighed.

"Just be happy you don't have to endure Petunia's gossip."

Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust and stood up.

"I think I see your uncle."

She pointed toward the wall. Ally's uncle had just passed through the barrier and was waving jovially toward Ally. Ally waved back.

"And I think I see your family."

Far away from the others, two red heads were talking happily to another wizard that Ally recognized as the Arithmancy professor. The woman looked very nice and pleasant, a lot like Lily looked. Next to her, her husband, was wearing a suit and talking rapidly. Beside them looked like a very sour teenager. She was doing her lip gloss and sneering at anyone who passed her by. Ally could see her muttering under her breath.

Petunia Evans was wearing a hot pink shirt and a tight red top that could have used an extra yard of fabric. Ally couldn't have called her pretty, she was just plain... plain faced and plain looking. She was holding up a small hand held mirror with the word 'Petunia' inscribed on the back of it. Her face looked like it held at least five pounds of make-up.

The hair she had was tied up tightly to avoid clinging to her face, different from Lily's, who always had her hair down. Ally wondered if Lily was adopted, there was no **_way _**that Lily could be related to that monstrosity in the train station. Her high heels clicked in impatience and she shot Lily a glare that clearly said, 'keep my waiting, I dare you...'

Lily nodded glumly. "_Please_ tell me you're coming."

"After seeing that beast," she nodded at Petunia. "I think I may have to for moral reasons. We're turning seventeen this summer."

"No longer restricted from using magic..."

"This summers' going to be great." Ally said, standing up.

The Evans' finally walked to where Lily and Ally still stood; a second later they were joined by Ally's uncle.

"Dave Pierce." her uncle said, grinning happily from ear to ear. "I assume that you are Lily's parents?"

"Why yes!" Lily's mother said. "Are you Ally's father?"

"Uncle." he said gruffly.

Ally's uncle and the Evans' chatted lightly about summer plans. Ally was delighted to hear that Lily's plan to invite her over was already going smoothly. Then, Ally turned to see Petunia's face three inches from hers. Ally's face blanched at the smell of her overpowering perfume.

"So..." she sneered. "I suppose you're one of _them_?"

"Er—" Ally said. "Sorry, what do you mean?"

"You." she pointed at Ally, though Ally thought that was unnecessary. "Are one of Lily' friends from that school of hers... _Hogwarts_."

Ally immediately began to realize that Petunia Evans would, in no way, ever be kind to her. She spat out the name of Hogwarts like it was venom. Ally turned to look at the Hogwarts express. What was the point of this question if Petunia had just seen Ally disembark?

"Well," Ally said slowly. "Yeah..."

Lily soon saw what was happening, and she also saw the look on Petunia's face. She quickly stepped over to intervene before her sister said something that would anger her friend, she had a knack for doing that.

"Not now, Petunia," Lily said. "Later..."

"Fine." Petunia stepped away a little. "Just tell that little... _thing_... to stay away from my Vernon." she fingered the necklace that was hanging down her front. Ally had just enough time to make out the words '_My Sweetheart_' before her uncle appeared at her side.

"I'm afraid you are going to get acquainted with Lily's sister later, Ally." her uncle said, smiling. "But it's time for us to leave, lots to do. You have to see your new house!"

Ally was reminded of how her parents had moved while she was away at Hogwarts. She sighed and suddenly wondered if they had gone through her things while they moved, she hoped they hadn't.

"Oh," she said dejectedly. "Yeah I forgot."

She turned to her best friend and put on a sad face. Even though Ally and Lily knew they would see each other in a few days, at the most, in a week.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Ally saw her friend disappear into the crowd, along with her family. Petunia shot Ally one last glare and Ally's uncle steered Ally away from the crowd.

"There's one in every family." he said offhandedly. Ally knew what he meant as they passed through the barrier. Though, she wondered how her uncle had picked up on Petunia's attitude.

She sighed inwardly, wondering what was going to happen. Summer would be one thing, but their lives would be another. How long will it be until the war affects them? How long will it be until the war hurts Hogwarts? How many layers of lip gloss will Petunia put on?

**(A/N I'm still trying to decide if I should put another small chapter in about a letter from Lily that tells her where to go and when to come. It also would set up the sequel... Hmm.**

**And that reminds me. This is THE END of this fic. I have accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. Now I'm starting another story about their summer. It'll be the sequel. This is what I'm _thinking_ will happen; it could change at any moment. (Not in any particular order...)**

**Ally meets Evans...**

**Lily and Ally work on meditation.**

**Vernon... need I say more?**

**Dinner with Vernon.**

**Vernon Propose... gasp**

**Something BAD happens... not telling you, though.**

**Vernon speeds up wedding.**

**Something happen between James and Vernon. Why? You have to find out...**

**Wedding, something happens between Petunia and Lily.**

**Meditate more... blah, blah, blah... and the grand finale.**

**(Optional) Diagon Alley scene. Not sure about this one... I may fit it in somehow. It's sort of sketchy... but has potential. **


	27. Chapter 27 Letter

**(A/N Sorry, guys. Everyone here is under the impression that I will be writing the sequel in the future. I'm sorry to inform you that I will not be writing the sequel later. Look down below.)**

Chapter 27-Letter

Dear Al,

Hey, I just received your letter. Petunia almost got it though; your owl swooped in and almost frightened her to death. It may be injured, I don't honestly know. Petunia threw her hand mirror at the owl and it got clipped on the wing. Be careful when you're handling it.

Our house does have a fireplace in the living room. You're lucky you asked just in time, my dad was just about to get an electric fireplace and board the old one up. He'll postpone it so you can use the floo network. Your uncle arranged it for Friday? That's good. My dad isn't working that day. We all have to clean, except maybe you, because you're the guest.

Oh, guess why we have to clean. Go ahead, guess. Because of that sweet, darling, dreamy, fat, ugly—

(Here, there is a large ink blot as Lily throws her pen down on the desk)

--self centered, know it all—

(Several select words that will not be repeated by this author)

--jerk, Vernon Dursley. I met him after I arrived at home. He was waiting in his car on our driveway when we got home. He wanted to take Petunia out for a nice, _normal_ outing. He's horrible! I've never met a man more fat and greedy. Whenever he's around my parents he's kind and pleasant. I actually thought he was a little bit decent. We had him over for dinner later that day and boy was I wrong.

Whenever no one is looking he stuffs his face full of food. He's so greedy that sometimes he takes money from Petunia to buy things. My parents like him enough. He's always nice to them. But when they leave the room he turns on me and begins to point out my _abnormalities_. It's sickening. I never thought I'd say this... but Potter has better morals then this man.

Not to mention he's far too old for Petunia. He's twenty four and she's still nineteen. I even heard Petunia talking about wedding dresses with her friends! Of course, she wouldn't talk about that with me. No, far be it from her to talk to her only sister. I can't believe she's even considering marriage. She's too young and Vernon is so—so—old! But apparently Vernon is very well off working as an office man in this big drill company. He makes money just yelling at people. Petunia was talking to him on the phone, I overheard when I was eating breakfast, and she congratulated him on firing_ three_ people before lunch. Three! That's despicable! I can't wait for you to get here. It's driving me insane, listening to Petunia go on and on and on and on about Vernon.

Well, at least she's happy. She seems to think that she has an edge over me because she _thinks_ that she's met the man she's going to marry. Nothing is for certain yet. Hopefully, someone will bang a drill over his head and he'll be dead within seconds. But then again, I really shouldn't get my hopes up to much.

There's another thing you should know. The first Monday after you will come, is when Vernon has planned a dinner. My mother is going to be cooking, so don't worry about being poisoned. It's going to be fancy so pack a set of good dress clothes. Muggle clothes, if you have them. If you don't, I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind us going to the mall. Petunia loves the mall. As she would say 'it's full of _normal_ people.'

There I go again about Petunia. I'm sorry, but it looks like this whole summer will revolve around Vernon and Petunia. I hope you won't mind, things are awfully tense between she and I. It's not your fault; we've always been this way. Ever since I got my Hogwarts letter it's been like war between us. She's always complaining about how I get all the attention and about how I don't deserve all that I have. I think she's even a little bit jealous. I don't know why. I don't get half of the things that my parents and Vernon give to her. She's getting to be like a spoiled brat.

It wasn't always this way between us. We used to get along with each other. We used to play and go to the mall. I was a freak at my school; they didn't like me because I was so different. But Petunia always looked out for me. She always fought off bullies. She's always been strong that way, even though she doesn't show it. I wonder what happened to change her from a sweet little girl to a raging woman bent on making my life horrible.

I remember one time, we were at the high school, and there was a group of guys that always hung out in the corner. We had just gotten some yogurt from a stand at the side of the road when they started to make fun of me; they were seniors at our high school. Petunia got real mad and told them off. She said I was worth ten of them, and then threw her ice cream and it went SPLAT all over them. She started to laugh at them and then the whole school joined in. I always liked Petunia for that.

Then when I turned eleven it all stopped. The talks we had when mum and dad weren't listening. The trips to the mall. She even gave me the cold shoulder for a while. Then we made our first trip to Diagon Alley and she realized that it was real. She told me she was sorry for not believing me. She hugged me and we cried because I was going to be gone a whole year.

And when I came back... boom, she hated me. Called me names, she even did horrible pranks. She joined the cheerleading squad and all of her friends came over to make fun of me. It was horrible. And now she's got this horrible boyfriend who will end up marrying her and they'll have children from heck and—and—

(BIG scribble)

Oh well, I wish you wee my sister. That would be cool.

I hope you've been keeping up on meditating. Every morning, noon, and night. Three times a day. It doesn't really matter when. But I read in the book that it helps if you space it out a bit. By the end of summer, early September, we should be ready for the first try at transforming. I just hope that nothing gets in the way. Remember, when you meditate, you have to go back to the surreal world in the conscience where you first saw your Animagi form. Don't just focus on your animal, focus on the trance. With any luck, we'll be prowling through the forbidden forest when school starts.

Remember to bring muggle clothes. Once again, I'm sorry about Petunia, I seem to have written this entire letter about her and not you. I'll see you soon.

Lily

**(A/N I'll be writing it now! Had you going there didn't I? First chapter will be posted later today.)**


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